li 



fWwjj of €onp M 

J \Q~)\ 






MANUAL OF THEOLOGY, 



A TREATISE ON 



CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 



J 



BY 



J. L. DAGG, D.D. 



The doctrine which is according to godliness. — 1 Tim. vi. 3. 




PHILADELPHIA : 
AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 

530 ARCH STREET. 



1*1 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 



(K 



PREFACE. 



This volume is designed for the use of those who have 
not time and opportunity to study larger works on theo- 
logy. In preparing it, my aim has been to present the 
system of Christian doctrine with plainness and brevity ; 
and to demonstrate, at every point, its truth, and its ten- 
dency to sanctify the heart. Men who have inclination 
and talent for deep research, will prefer more elaborate 
discussions ; but if the novice in religion shall be assisted 
in determining what is truth, and what the proper use to 
be made of it, the chief end for which I have written will 
have been attained. 

In delineating divine truth, we may exhibit it in dif- 
ferent aspects and relations. We may view it as coming 
forth from God, with supreme authority ; or as a system 
revealed by Jesus Christ, all the parts of which beautifully 
harmonize with each other, and cluster around the doctrine 
of the cross, the central point of the system ; or as enter- 
ing j&e human heart by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and 
transforming it into the image of God. This last view I 
have labored to render prominent in these pages. The 
moral and religious principle in man needs a suitable in- 
fluence for its development and perfection ; and such influ- 
ence this book finds in the truths here presented. The 
adaptedness of a doctrine to produce this effect, it regards 

(iii) 



IV PREFACE. 

as a proof of its truth and divine origin ; and it accordingly 
deduces the articles of faith, to a great extent, from the 
inward exercises of piety. But this is not the only method 
relied on for demonstrating their truth. Other sources of 
religious knowledge have been examined, and especially 
the Bible in which the truth of God is directly made 
known. To this holy book, as the highest standard, the 
last appeal is always made ; and the harmony of its deci- 
sions, with the deductions from our inward experience, is 
carefully observed for the confirmation of our faith. While 
the system has been viewed as emanating from God, and 
as operating on man, attention has not been directed ex- 
clusively to its origin, or its termination. The convergence 
of all its lines in the glorious centre, the cross of Christ, 
has not been overlooked. The reader will, I hope, find 
proof in these pages, that the doctrine of the cross is the 
doctrine according to godliness. 

It has been no part of my design, to lead the humble 
inquirer into the thorny region of polemic theology. To 
avoid everything that has been a subject of controversy, 
was impossible ; for every part of divine truth has been 
assailed. But it has been my plan to pursue our course 
of investigation, affected as little as possible by the strife 
of religious disputants, and to know no controversy, but 
with the unbelief of our own hearts. The questions which 
are most likely to perplex sincere inquirers have been ex- 
amined ; and, if they have not been thoroughly elucidated, 
and fully answered, I hope they have been so disposed of 
as to leave the mind at rest, peacefully reposing on truth 
clearly revealed, and patiently waiting for the light of 
eternity to dispel all remaining darkness. 

In religion, men appear naturally fond of the difficult 
and the obscure ; perhaps, because they there find escape 



PREFACE. V 

from the disquieting light of clearly revealed truth. Even 
the novice, leaving the subjects that are plain, plunges into 
deep investigations, and abstruse reasonings, which the 
skilful theologian thinks it wiser to avoid. Hence arises 
a necessity of frequently reminding the inquirer, that there 
are subjects which extend far beyond the limits of his 
vision ; and that, in laboring to explore them further than 
he is guided by revelation, he is in danger of mistaking 
hypothesis, and the deductions of fallacious reasoning for 
the truth of God. Hypothesis may be lawfully admitted 
for the removal of objections, if it be remembered that it 
is only hypothesis ; and abstruse reasoning must be allowed, 
when it becomes needful to go into its labyrinth, for the 
purpose of extricating those who have lost themselves 
therein ; but, for direct proof of all the articles of faith, 
this book relies on express declarations of God's word, or 
such deductions as are adapted to plain and practical 
minds. 

Any one who may desire to see a history of religious 
opinions, will not find it in this work. Eeligion is an 
affair between every man and his God ,' and every man 
should seek to know the truth for himself, whatever may 
be the opinions of others respecting it. It has been my 
aim to lead the mind of the reader directly to the sources 
of religious knowledge, and incite him to investigate them 
for himself, without respect to human authority. He may 
learn, from the help which I am proffering him, what my 
views are, but I will here give him the caution, once for 
all, not to adopt any opinion which I may advance, farther 
than it is well sustained by the word of God. Had I 
wished him to Hx his faith on human authority, I should 
have adduced quotations from writers of celebrity in sup- 
port of my opinions ; but I have chosen not to do so. It 
is my desire that the reader should see, in the doctrine 



VI PREFACE. 

here presented, so far as respects human authority, nothing 
but the mere opinion of a fallible worm ; but that so far 
as it is sustained by the word of God, he should receive it 
as the truth of God. 

This volume contains nothing respecting the externals 
of religion. The form of godliness is important as well as 
its power, and the doctrine respecting it is a component 
part of the Christian system ; but I have been unable to 
include it in the present work. 

If this humble attempt to benefit others should be un- 
successful, it has not been useless to myself. In the near 
prospect of eternity, I have found it good to examine again 
the foundation on which my faith rests. If the perusal 
of these pages give as much profit and pleasure to the 
reader, as the preparing of them has given to the writer, 
we may find reason in the future world to rejoice together, 
that Christian friends have called for this little service to 
the cause of the Eedeemer. 



CONTENTS 



BOOK FIEST. 

STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 
CHAPTER I. 

Page 

The Obligation, 13 

CHAPTER II. 
Sources of Knowledge - 18 

Inspiration and Transmission of the Scriptures 22 

Appendix. — Origin and Authority of the Bible 26 



BOOK SECOND. 

DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

INTRODUCTION. 
Duty of Love to God - 43 

CHAPTER I. 
Existence of God 50 

CHAPTER II. 

Attributes of God 55 

(vii) 



Viii CONTENTS. 

Page 

Sec. I. Unity 55 

" 2. Spirituality 56 

" 3. Immensity, Omnipresence 60 

" 4. Eternity and Immutability 63 

" ,5. Omniscience 67 

" 6. Omnipotence « 73 

" 7. Goodness 76 

" 8. Truth 83 

" 9. Justice 84 

" 10. Holiness...— 86 

" 11. Wisdom 86 

Conclusion 91 



BOOK THIRD. 

DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Duty of Delighting in the Will and Works of God 95 

CHAPTER I. 

Will of God ,.. 99 

Will of Command 100 

Will of Purpose 102 

CHAPTER II. 

Creation 110 

CHAPTER III. 

Providence 115 

Sec. 1. Preservation . . . . 116 

" 2. Government in general 117 

" 3. Natural Government 118 

" 4. Moral Government 120 

" 5. Free Agency 121 

" 6. Moral Necessity 122 

" 7. Designs of Providence 128 

" 8. Providence over Sin 130 

Conclusion 135 



CONTENTS. IX 

BOOK FOURTH. 

DOCT.RINE CONCERNING THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 
INTRODUCTION. 

Page 

Duty of Repentance 138 

CHAPTER I. 
Original State of Man 141 

CHAPTER II. 
The Fall 144 

CHAPTER III. 

Man's Present State 150 

Sec. 1. Actual Sin 150 

" 2. Depravity 152 

" 3. Condemnation 157 

" 4. Helplessness 168 

Conclusion 171 



BOOK FIFTH 

DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

INTRODUCTION. 
Duty of Believing in Jesus Christ 175 



CHAPTER I. 

Person of Christ 179 

Sec. 1. Humanity 179 

" 2. Divinity * 181 

" 3. Union of Natures 201 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER II. 

Page 

States of Christ 203 

Sec. 1. Original Glory 203 

" 2. Humiliation -* 205 

" 3. Exaltation ~ 206 



CHAPTER III. 

Offices of Christ * 207 

Sec. 1. Prophet 208 

" 2. Priest 210 

" 3. King.... 221 

Conclusion 229 



BOOK SIXTH. 

DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

INTRODUCTION. 
Duty of Living and Walking in the Holy Spirit 234 

CHAPTER I. 
Personality of the Holy Spirit - 236 

CHAPTER II. 
Divinity of the Holy Spirit 238 

CHAPTER III. 

Office of the Holy Spirit 241 

Conclusion. 242 



CONTENTS. XI 



BOOK SEVENTH. 

DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 
INTRODUCTION. 

Page 

Duty of Gratitude for Divine Grace 244 

CHAPTER I. 
The Trinity 246 

CHAPTER II. 
Covenant of Grace 253 

CHAPTER III. 

Blessings of Grace 258 

Sec. 1. Pardon 262 

" 2. Justification 265 

" 3. Adoption 274 

" 4. Regeneration 277 

" 5. Sanctification 285 

" 6 Final Perseverance 287 

" 7 Perfection 30C 

CHAPTER IY. 

Sovereignty of Grace 305 

Sec. 1. Election 309 

" 2. Particular Redemption 324 

" 3. Effectual Calling 331 

Conclusion 335 



Xll CONTENTS 



BOOK EIGHTH. 

DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 
INTRODUCTION. 

Page 
Duty of Preparing for the Future World 339 

CHAPTER I. 
Immortality and Separate State of the Soul 341 

CHAPTER II. 
Resurrection , 345 

CHAPTER III. 
Last Judgment 350 

CHAPTER IV. 
Heaven 357 

CHAPTER T. 

Hell 364 

Conclusion 376 



MANUAL OF THEOLOGY. 



BOOK FIRST. 
STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH 



CHAPTER I. 

THE OBLIGATION. 

The study of religious truth ought to be undertaken and prose- 
cuted from a sense of duty, and with a view to the improvement 
of the heart. When learned, it ought not to be laid on the shelf, 
as an object of speculation ; but it should be deposited deep in the 
heart, where its sanctifying power ought to be felt. To study the- 
ology, for the purpose of gratifying curiosity, or preparing for a 
profession, is an abuse and profanation of what ought to be re- 
garded as most holy. To learn things pertaining to God, merely 
for the sake of amusement, or secular advantage, or to gratify the 
mere love of knowledge, is to treat the Most High with contempt. 

Our eternal interests are involved in the subject of religion, and 
we should study it with a view to these interests. A farmer should 
study agriculture, with a view to the increase of his crop ; but if, 
instead of this he exhausts himself in inquiring how plants propa- 
gate their like, and how the different soils were originally produced, 
his grounds will be overrun with briers and thorns, and his barns 
will be empty. Equally unprofitable will be that study of religious 
doctrine which is directed to the mere purpose of speculation. It 
is as if the food necessary for the sustenance of the body, instead 
of being eaten and digested, were merely set out in such order as 

(13) 



14 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

to gratify the sight. In this case, the body would certainly perish 
■with hunger ; and, with equal certainty will the soul famish if it 
feed not on divine truth. 

When religious doctrine is regarded merely as an object of specu- 
lation, the mind is not content with the simple truth as it is in 
Jesus, but wanders after unprofitable questions, and becomes en- 
tangled in difficulties, from which it is unable to extricate itself. 
Hence arises the skepticism of many. Truth, which would sanctify 
and save the soul, they wilfully reject, because it will not gratify 
all their curiosity, and solve all their perplexities. They act as 
the husbandman would, who should reject the whole science of 
agriculture, and refuse to cultivate his grounds, because there are 
many mysteries in the growth of plants, which he cannot explain. 

If we set out, in our search for religious truth, from a sense of 
duty, and with the purpose of making the best possible use of it, 
we may hope for success. The Lord will bless our efforts ; for he 
has promised, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the 
doctrine." 1 As we advance, we shall find out all that is necessary 
for any practical purpose ; and the sense of duty, under which we 
proceed, will not drive us beyond this point. 

The sense of religious obligation which moves us to seek the 
knowledge of the truth, though disregarded by a large part of 
mankind, belongs to the constitution of human nature. Man was 
originally designed for religion, as certainly as the eye was formed 
for the purpose of vision. It will be advantageous to consider well 
this fact, at the outset of our inquiries. We shall then feel that 
we are proceeding according to the best dictates of human nature. 

The various parts of the world which we inhabit, are admirably 
adapted to each other. Many of these adaptations present them- 
selves to our most careless observation ; and, if we search for them 
with diligence, they multiply to our view beyond number. The 
seed falls to the ground from its parent stalk, like a grain of sand ; 
but, unlike the sand, it contains in its minute dimensions, a won- 
derful provision for the production of a future plant. This provi- 
sion, however, would prove unavailing, if it did not find a soil 
adapted to give nourishment to the young germ. Moisture is also 
needed : and the vapor, rising from a distant sea, is wafted to the 

•John vii. 17. 



THE OBLIGATION. 15 

place by the wind, and, condensed in the atmosphere, descends in 
the fertilizing shower. But all these adaptations are insufficient, 
if warmth is not supplied ; and, to complete the process, the sun, at 
the distance of ninety-five millions of miles, sends forth his en- 
livening beams. Such complications of arrangements abound in 
all the works of nature. 

The purposes which these adaptations accomplish, are often per- 
fectly obvious. In plants and animals, they provide for the life of 
the individual and the continuance of the species. Plants are 
adapted to become food for animals ; and plants and animals render 
important benefit to man. But man, too, has his adaptations ; 
and, from a consideration of these, his proper place in the great 
system of the universe may be inferred. 

Like other animals, man is so constituted, that provision is made 
for the continuance of his life, and of the race. Were there no 
higher indications in his constitution, he might eat and drink, like 
other animals ; and the indulgence of his natural appetites and 
propensities might be the highest end of his being. But, for 
human beings so to brutalize themselves, is a manifest degradation 
of their nature. They possess endowments, which, as every one 
feels, fit them for far nobler purposes. 

The high intellectual powers of man, call for appropriate exer- 
cise. His knowledge is not confined to objects near at hand, nor 
to such relations and properties of things as are immediately per- 
ceived by the senses ; but his reason traces remote relations, and 
follows the chain of cause and effect through long successions. 
From the present moment he looks back through past history, and 
connects events in their proper order of dependence. By his 
knowledge of the past he is able to anticipate and prepare for the 
future. In the causes now existing, he can discover the effects 
which will be developed long hereafter. Such endowments agree 
well with the opinion that he is an immortal being, and that the 
present transitory life is preparatory to another which will never 
end ; but they, by no means, accord with the supposition, that he 
dies as the brute. No one imagines that the ox, or the ass, is con- 
cerned with the question whether an immortality awaits him, for 
which it is important that he should prepare ; but the idea of a 
future state has had a place in the human mind in all ages, and 
under all forms of religion. The bee and the ant provide for 



16 STUDY OF KELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

the approaching winter ; and the winter, for which their instincts 
lead them to prepare, comes upon them. If the future life, which 
men have so generally looked for, which their minds are so fitted 
to expect, and for which many have labored to prepare, with un- 
ceasing care, should never be realized, the case would violate all 
analogy, and be discordant with the harmony of universal nature. 

The human mind is fitted for continued progress in knowledge ; 
and, therefore, for a state of immortality. This adaptation in- 
cludes an insatiable desire of knowledge, and an ability to acquire 
it. The little chicken, not many hours after it has left the shell 
in which its feeble existence commenced, is able to select its food, 
to roam abroad in search of it, and to return to its mother's wing 
for protection. Man is born into the world, the most helpless of 
animals. Tedious weeks pass away before the development of his 
intellectual powers begins to appear. The progress is slow, and 
many months of gradual improvement pass, before he becomes 
equal in ability for self-preservation, to many other creatures that 
have lived a few hours. These animals, however, stop at a point 
beyond which, it may be said, they never go. The birds of the 
present age build their nests just as they were built five thousand 
years ago ; and the admirable social arrangements found among 
bees and ants have undergone no improvement. But no point, no 
line, bounds the progress of the human mind. Though we are now 
familiar with the great improvements which have been made in arts 
and sciences, we contemplate them with admiration and astonish- 
ment ; and we feel that a boundless career is open before the in- 
tellect of man, inviting the efforts which he finds himself internally 
prompted to make. But, as far as each individual of the race is 
concerned, the vast fields of knowledge open before him in vain, 
his power to explore them exists in vain, an^d the desire to explore 
burns in vain in his breast, if the present life, which flies as the 
weaver's shuttle, is the only opportunity granted, and if all his 
hopes and aspirations are to be forever buried in the grave. 

The moral faculties with which man is endowed, adapt him to a 
state of subjection to moral government. Our minds are so con- 
stituted, that we are capable of perceiving a moral quality in 
actions, and of approving or disapproving them. A consciousness 
of having done what is right, affords us one of our highest plea- 
sures ; and the anguish of remorse for evil deeds, is as intolerable 



THE OBLIGATION. 27 

as any suffering of which the human heart is susceptible. Our 
conscience exercises a moral government within us, and rewards or 
punishes us for actions according to their moral character. Much 
of our happiness depends on the approbation of those with whom 
we associate. Hence, we find moral government without, as well 
as within ; and at every point, in our relations to intelligent beings, 
we feel its restraints. Where are the bounds of this moral govern- 
ment ? It must be as extensive as our relations to moral beings, 
and as lasting as our existence. 

That men are immortal and under a moral government, by 
which their future state will be made happy or miserable, accord- 
ing to their conduct in the present life, are fundamental truths of 
religion. Man is a religious animal ; because a persuasion of his 
immortality and an expectation of future retribution so readily 
find a place in his mind. No one imagines that such thoughts 
were ever entertained for a moment, by any one of the innumerable 
brute animals that have trodden the earth. But in the human race, 
such thoughts have been prevalent in all nations and ages ; have 
mingled with the cogitations of the learned and the unlearned, 
the wise and the unwise ; and have blended religion thoroughly 
with the history of mankind. 

The considerations which have been presented, establish the 
claim of religious truth to our highest respect and most diligent 
investigation. He who disregards its claim acts contrary to his 
own nature, and degrades himself to the level of the beast that 
perishes. That men do so degrade themselves, is a fact which 
correct views of religious truth cannot overlook : " The ox knoweth 
his owner, and the ass his master's crib ; but Israel doth not know, 
my people doth not consider." 1 It is a peculiar glory and excel- 
lence of the Christian revelation, that it is adapted to this fallen 
condition of mankind ; and that it has power to effect a restoration. 
It is medicine for the sick, as well as food for the healthy. A 
healthy appetite calls for food ; and the food, when received, ad- 
ministers needed nourishment ; so that between the healthy stomach 
and the nutritious food, the adaptation is reciprocal. But in sick- 
ness the stomach loathes food, and rejects the medicine which is 
needed to effect a cure : yet the adaptation of the medicine to the 

J Is. i. 3. 



18 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

condition of the sick man still remains. Just so it is with respect 
to the gospel of Christ. Though rejected by men, it is " worthy 
of all acceptation/' because it is a remedy, precisely adapted to 
our depraved state. Thousands of thousands have experienced its 
restoring power, and unite in recommending its efficacy to the mul- 
titudes who are unwilling to make trial of it. 

In contemplating the truths of religion, we may view them in 
various aspects. We may consider them as proceeding from God ; 
as demonstrated by abundant proof; as harmonizing with one an- 
other ; and as tending to the glory of God. It is interesting and 
instructive to view them in immediate contact with the human 
heart, and, like the Spirit of God, brooding over the original 
chaos, bringing order out of confusion, and infusing light and life 
where darkness and death had previously reigned. In exerting this 
new-creating power, the divinity of Christian truth appears ; and 
the demonstration of it is the more satisfactory, because practical, 
and leveled to the capacity of all. 

As religious beings, let us seek to understand the truths of 
religion. As immortal beings, let us strive to make ourselves 
acquainted with the doctrine on which our everlasting happiness 
depends. And let us be careful that we do not merely receive it 
coldly into our understandings, but that its renewing power is ever 
operative in our hearts. 



CHAPTER II. 

SOURCES OP KNOWLEDGE. 



We find ourselves in a world where we have no continuing abode. 
Within us, and without us, we have proofs and admonitions that 
our chief interests lie in another world, and that our chief busi- 
ness in this is to prepare for the future state, into which we shall 
very soon enter. We need information respecting that unseen 
world and the right method of preparing for it, and no other know- 
ledge can be so important to us as this. Can it be that we have 
no means of acquiring it ? For our guidance in the things of this 



SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE. 19 

world, every necessary provision has been made. We possess eyes ; 
and the world in which we are placed affords the light that is 
needed to render them useful in directing our steps. We possess 
understanding ; and means of knowledge from without are pre- 
sented, by which we may select the objects of our pursuit, and the 
best methods of gaining them. We may hence infer that some 
means of knowledge respecting our highest interests must exist. 
The sources from which this knowledge may be obtained, are the 
following : 

1. Our moral and religious feelings. — Brute animals have in- 
stincts by which they are guided; and in man, also, instinctive 
propensities exist, adapted to his nature and the condition and cir- 
cumstances of his being. Maternal affection is not confined to 
brutes as an instinct peculiar to them, but it is found in the highest 
degree in the human mother; and in her breast, mingles with 
moral and religious feelings peculiar to human nature and insepa- 
rable from it. The human mother feels the moral obligation to take 
care of her child, antecedent to all reasoning on the subject. When 
we determine what is right or wrong by a process of reasoning, we 
judge according to some law, or rule of right ; but, in this case, 
the mother is a law to herself. She needs no teaching from with- 
out, to inform her that it is her duty to take care of her offspring. 
Sin may so debase human nature, that mothers may be without 
natural affection — and such mothers may evince no moral feeling ; 
but, however it may be buried under our corruptions, the moral 
principle is an element of our nature. Because of it, even the 
heathen are a law unto themselves, and show the work of the law 
written in their hearts. The moral feeling which at first co-operates 
with the mother's instinctive affection to induce her to take care of 
her child, co-operates afterwards with her reason in devising the 
best method of promoting its good. 

When it was to be determined which of two women was the mother 
of a living child claimed by both, the wisdom of Solomon decided, 
that the maternal relation existed where maternal affection existed. 
On the same principle we may, from our moral and religious feel- 
ings, infer our relation to moral government and to the Supreme 
Ruler. From this law, written in the heart, we might obtain much 
religious knowledge, if the fall of man had not obscured the 
writing. 



20 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

2. The moral and religious feelings of our fellow-men. — We are 
formed for society, and are capable of benefiting each other in the 
things of this life, and of that which is to come. The judgments of 
others assist our judgments ; and their moral and religious feeling3 
may, in like manner, assist ours. In the approbation or disappro- 
bation of mankind, we may find an important means of knowing 
what is right or wrong. Hence, it is a rule of duty to do those 
things which are " of good report." 

If an ancient writing is transmitted to us in numerous copies, 
all of which are mutilated and greatly effaced, the probability of 
ascertaining what the original was is far greater, when we compare 
many copies with each other, than it would be, if we possessed one 
copy only. For the same reason, the moral and religious feeling 
of mankind generally, is a source of knowledge more to be relied 
on, than that which is opened for our examination in the moral 
nature of a single individual. A hardened transgressor's own con- 
science may fail to reprove him, when his crimes shock the moral 
sense of the whole community ; and, from their disapprobation, he 
might learn the iniquity of his conduct, though all moral feeling 
were extinguished in his own breast. 

In examining this second source of knowledge, we observe the 
common consent of mankind, that there is a God ; that he ought 
to be worshipped ; that there is a difference between virtue and vice ; 
that a moral government exists, which is partly administered in 
this life by Divine Providence ; that the soul of man is immortal ; 
and that a future retribution awaits all men after death. These 
truths of religion appear in the history of mankind, through all the 
corruptions which have covered and obscured them. 

3. The course of Nature. — Things are so arranged by the Cre- 
ator and Ruler of the world, that some actions tend to promote, 
and others to destroy, tbfe happiness of the individual and of 
society. By observing the tendency of actions, we may learn what 
to do and what to avoid. God has established the nature of things, 
and the voice of Nature is the voice of God. Conscience is God 
speaking within us, but, because of man's apostasy from God, it 
often delivers false oracles. Hence, we do well to turn our ear to 
the voice of God, speaking in universal Nature. 

The tendency of vice to produce misery, is obvious to every one 
who observes the course of things around him. Drunkards and 



SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE. 21 

gamblers impoverish themselves, ruin their families, waste their 
health, and bring themselves to an untimely grave, not unfrequently 
by violent, and sometimes by suicidal hands. In ten thousand 
ways, crime of every species exhibits its pernicious tendency, and, 
in this arrangement of things, the moral government of God is 
clearly seen, and the conduct which he approves, is pointed out 
by the finger of his Providence. Enough of God's moral govern- 
ment appears in the present life, to demonstrate its existence ; and 
the imperfection which is manifest in its present administration, 
furnishes satisfactory proof that.it extends beyond the present 
life, and is perfected in the world to come. 

The religious knowledge which may be obtained from the three 
sources which have been enumerated, constitutes what is called 
Natural Religion. Though insufficient to meet the wants of man 
in his fallen condition, it teaches the fundamental truths on which 
all religion is based, and leads to the higher source of knowledge 
by which we may become wise to salvation. This is 

4. Divine Revelation. — Because all other means of knowledge 
are insufficient to bring men to holiness and happiness, God has 
been pleased, in pity to our race, to make known his will by special 
revelation. Besides his voice in conscience and in Nature, he 
utters his voice from heaven. This revelation was anciently made 
by prophets, who were commissioned to speak to men in his name, 
and afterwards by his Son from heaven. To us, in these latter 
days, he speaks in his written word, the Bible, which is the perfect 
source of religious knowledge, and the infallible standard of reli- 
gious truth. 

The Bible consists of two parts: — 1. The Old Testament, or 
Hebrew Scriptures. This is the book very carefully preserved by 
the Jews throughout the world, and held sacred by them as a reve- 
lation from God. 2. The New Testament. This consists of various 
writings, which have been carefully preserved by the Christians 
sf past ages, and are now regarded by them as a revelation from 
Sod, made through the immediate followers of Jesus Christ. 

We shall here assume that the Bible is a revelation from God. 
If the reader has any doubt on this point, he may study, to ad- 
vantage, any of the numerous works extant on the Evidences of 
Christianity; or, in the absence of more elaborate productions, he 
may read a small tract by the Author, entitled, The Origin and 



22 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

Authority of the Bible. [This Tract has been introduced into the 
present work as an Appendix, pp. 26-42.] 

Inspiration and transmission of the Scriptures. — The Bible, 
though a revelation from God, does not come immediately from 
him to us who read it, but is received through the medium of hu- 
man agency. It is an important question, whether its truth and 
authority are impaired by passing through this medium. Human 
agency was employed in the first writing of the Scriptures, and 
afterwards in transmitting them, by means of copies and transla- 
tions, to distant places, and succeeding generations. 

The men who originally wrote the Holy Scriptures, performed 
the work under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Such was the 
extent of this influence, that the writing, when it came forth from 
their hands, was said to be given by inspiration of God. So Paul 
said, with special reference to the Old Testament : " All Scripture 
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable . . . that the man 
of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 1 
Though Moses and the prophets executed the writing, it is said to 
have been given by God, and the perfection attributed to it demon- 
strates that it had not suffered by the instrumentality which he had 
chosen to employ. Christ referred to the Hebrew Scriptures, as 
the word of God. 2 Paul represents what was spoken by the pro- 
phets, as spoken by God. 3 Peter attributes to the writings of Paul 
equal authority with that of the Old Testament Scriptures. 4 Paul 
also claims equal authority for what he spoke and wrote. 5 Christ 
promised to his apostles, after his departure, the gift of the Holy 
Spirit, and described the effect of his influence on them in these 
words : " It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your father 
which speaketh in you." 6 This gift of the Holy Spirit was poured 
out upon them on the day of Pentecost ; and their possession of it 
was proved by their power to speak with tongues, and work mira- 
cles. From all this, we learn that what was spoken and written 
by inspiration, came with as high authority as if it had proceeded 
from God without the use of human instrumentality. When Peter 
said to the lame man, " In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 
rise up, and walk," 7 the voice which spoke was Peter's, but the 

1 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. 2 Mark vii. 13. 3 Heb. i. 1. 4 2 Peter iii. 16. 
6 1 Cor. xiv. 37 ; 1 Thess. iii. 10. 6 Matt. x. 20. 7 Acts iii. 6. 



SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE. 23 

power which restored the ankle bones, was God's. The words, 
though Peter's, were spoken under divine influence, or the divine 
power would not have accompanied them. So the gospel, received 
from the lips of the apostles, was received, "not as the word of 
men, hut as it is in truth the word of God." 1 The men who spoke 
and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, were the instru- 
ments that God used to speak and write his word. Their pecu 
liarities of thought, feeling, and style, had no more effect to prevent 
what they spoke and wrote from being the word of God, than their 
peculiarities of voice or of chirography. 

The question, whether inspiration extended to the very words of 
revelation, as well as to the thoughts and reasonings, is answered 
by Paul: "We preach, not in the words which man's wisdom 
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." 2 The thoughts 
and reasonings in the minds of the inspired writers, were not a 
revelation to others until they were expressed in words ; and if 
the Holy Spirit's influence ceased before expression was given to 
these thoughts and reasonings, he has not made a revelation to 
mankind. On this supposition, we cannot read the Bible as the 
word of God, but as the word of men ; of good and honest men, it 
is true, but nevertheless of fallible men. The opinion that the 
expression is merely human, undermines the confidence with which 
the word of God deserves to be regarded ; because we know not when, 
or how far, that expression may fail to convey the meaning of the 
Holy Spirit. It can no longer be said, that the Scriptures are " a 
more sure word of prophecy," 3 that "they cannot be broken," 4 
and that the things written "are the commandments of the Lord." 5 

The doctrine of plenary inspiration, if properly understood, does 
not imply that the Holy Spirit employed the writer as an uncon- 
scious instrument. It maintains that his memory, and other men- 
tal powers, were employed in the execution of the work, as truly 
as his hand ; but it insists that the latter was as certainly controlled 
by the unerring guide as the former. Nor does the doctrine imply, 
that the Holy Spirit is the original author of every word contained 
in the sacred volume. It records the speeches of Satan, and of 
the Orator Tertullus, and records them faithfully ; but the Holy 
Spirit was not the author of these speeches. 

1 1 Thess. ii. 13. 2 1 Cor. ii. 13. 3 2 Peter i. 19. 

4 John x. 35. 5 1 Cor. xiv. 37. 



24 STUDY OF KELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

In 1 Cor. ch. 7, Paul distinguishes between what he delivered* 
as a commandment of the Lord, and what he spoke without such 
commandment. It may appear, at first view, that he disclaims in- 
spiration with regard to the things of the last kind. But if it be 
admitted, that these things were matters of human advice without 
divine authority, it does not follow, that the writing which contains 
his advice, is uninspired. The inspired word which records the 
speeches of Satan and Tertullus, may record the prudent counsel 
of a wise apostle, even when that counsel does not come with the 
full sanction of divine authority. But, in giving this counsel, Paul 
says, " I think that I have the Spirit of God," v. 40 ; and, if he 
thought that he gave it by the Spirit, it would be rash in us to 
think otherwise. We are not to understand the word " think," as 
implying doubt in Paul's mind, and we need have no doubt that 
the counsel which he gave, was by the wisdom from above. 

Although the Scriptures were originally penned under the un- 
erring guidance of the Holy Spirit, it does not follow, that a con- 
tinued miracle has been wrought to preserve them from all error in 
transcribing. On the contrary, we know that manuscripts differ 
from each other ; and where readings are various, but one of them 
can be correct. A miracle was needed in the original production 
of the Scriptures ; and, accordingly, a miracle was wrought ; but 
the preservation of the inspired word, in as much perfection as was 
necessary to answer the purpose for which it was given, did not 
require a miracle, and accordingly it was committed to the provi- 
dence of God. Yet the providence which has preserved the divine 
oracles, has been special and remarkable. They were at first com- 
mitted to the Jews, who exercised the utmost care in their preser- 
vation and correct transmission. After the Christian Scriptures 
were added, manuscript copies were greatly multiplied ; many ver- 
sions were prepared in other languages ; innumerable quotations 
were made by the early fathers ; and sects arose which, in their 
controversies with each other, appealed to the sacred writings, and 
guarded their purity with incessant vigilance. The consequence 
is, that, although the various readings found in the existing manu- 
scripts, are numerous, we are able, in every case, to determine the 
correct reading, so far as is necessary for the establishment of our 
faith, or the direction of our practice in every important particular. 
So little, after all, do the copies differ from each other, that these 



SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE. 25 

minute differences, when viewed in contrast with their general 
agreement, render the fact of that agreement the more impressive, 
and may be said to serve practically, rather to increase, than im- 
pair our confidence in their general correctness. Their utmost 
deviations do not change the direction of the line of truth ; and 
if they seem in some points to widen that line a very little, the 
path that lies between their widest boundaries, is too narrow to 
permit us to stray. As copies of the Holy Scriptures, though 
made by fallible hands, are sufficient for our guidance in the study 
of divine truth ; so translations, though made with uninspired hu- 
man skill, are sufficient for those who have not access to the inspired 
original. Unlearned men will not be held accountable for a degree 
of light beyond what is granted to them ; and the benevolence of 
God in making revelation, has not endowed all with the gift of in- 
terpreting tongues. When this gift was miraculously bestowed in 
ancient times, it was for the edification of all : and now, when con- 
ferred in the ordinary course of providence, the purpose of con- 
ferring it is the same. God has seen it wiser and better to leave 
the members of Christ to feel the necessity of mutual sympathy and 
dependence, than to bestow every gift on every individual. He 
has bestowed the knowledge necessary for the translation of his 
word on a sufficient number of faithful men, to answer the purpose 
of his benevolence ; and the least accurate of the translations with 
which the common people are favored, is full of divine truth, and 
able to make wise to salvation. 

A full conviction that the Bible is the word of God, is necessary 
to give us confidence in its teachings, and respect for its decisions. 
With this conviction pervading the mind when we read the sacred 
pages, we realize that God is speaking to us, and when we feel the 
truth take hold of our hearts, we know that it is God with whom 
we have to do. When we study its precepts, all our powers bow to 
them, as the undoubted will of our sovereign Lord ; and when we 
are cheered and sustained by its consolations, we receive them as 
blessings poured down from the eternal throne. Nature and science 
offer no light that can guide us in our search for immortal bliss ; 
but God has given us the Bible, as a lamp to our feet, and a light 
tc our path. Let us receive the gift with gratitude and commit 
ourselves to its guidance. 



26 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

APPENDIX. 
Origin and Authority of the Bible. 

I: ORIGIN. 

We are rational beings ; and, as such, the desire of knowledge 
is naturalto us. In early childhood, as each new object of interest 
comes under our notice, we ask, who made it ; and as we advance 
in years, the same inquisitiveness attends us, and prompts us to 
investigate the sources of knowledge which are ever opening before 
us. Brutes may look with indifference on the works of God, and 
tread under foot the productions of human ingenuity, without in- 
quiry into their origin ; but rational men cannot act thus without 
violence to the first principles of their nature. Among the objects 
which have occupied a large space in human thought, and which 
claim our consideration, the Bible stands conspicuous. Its anti- 
quity ; the veneration in which it has been held, and continues to 
be held, by a large part of mankind ; and the influence which it 
has manifestly exerted on their conduct and happiness,' are suffi- 
cient, if not to awaken higher emotions, at least to attract our 
curiosity, and excite a desire to know its origin and true character. 

We are moral beings. The Bible comes to us as a rule of con- 
duct. The claim which is set up for it is, that it is the highest 
standard of morals, admitting no appeal from its decisions. We 
are, therefore, under the strongest obligations to examine the foun- 
dation of this claim. 

We are, if the Bible is true, immortal beings. Heathen philo- 
sophers have conjectured that man may be immortal ; and infidels 
have professed to believe it ; but, if we exclude the Bible, we have 
no means of certain knowledge on this point. Yet it is a matter 
of the utmost importance. If we are immortal, we have interests 
beyond the grave which infinitely transcend all our interests in the 
present life. What folly, then, it is, to reject the only source of 
information on this momentous subject ! Besides, if we have such 
interests in a future world, we have no means of knowing how to 
secure them, except from the Bible. Shall we throw this book 
from us, and trust to vain conjecture, on questions in which our all 
is involved ? it would be folly and madness. 

Let us then inquire, whence came the Bible ? Is it from heaven, 



OEIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 27 

or from men ? If it is from men, is it the work of good men, o* 
of bad men? 

If bad men bad been tbe authors of the Bible, they would have 
made it to their liking. If made to please them, it would please 
other men of like character. But it is not a book in which bad 
men delight. They hate it. Its precepts are too holy ; its doc- 
trines too pure ; its denunciations against all manner of iniquity 
too terrible. It is not at all written according to the taste of such 
men. There are men who prize the Bible ; who pore over its pages 
with delight ; who have recourse to it in all their perplexities and 
sorrows ; who seek its counsels to guide them, and its instructions 
to make them wise ; who esteem its words more than gold, and 
feast on them as their sweetest food. But who are these men ? 
They are those who detest all deceit and falsehood, and whom this 
very book has transformed, from men of iniquity and vice, to men 
of purity and holiness. It is impossible, therefore, that the Bible 
should be the work of bad men. 

It remains that the Bible must be either from heaven or from 
good men. So pure a stream cannot proceed from a corrupt foun- 
tain. If it be from good men, they will not wilfully deceive us. 
Let us, then, look to the account which they have given of its 
origin: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." 1 "The 
things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." 2 
" And so we have the prophetic word more firm, to which ye do 
well to take heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the 
day dawn, and the morning star arise in your hearts ; knowing this 
first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private invention. For 
never, at any time, was prophecy brought by the will of man, but 
the holy men of God spake, being moved by the Holy Ghost." 3 

It may, perhaps, be objected to the use of these quotations, that 
we permit the Bible to speak for itself; but this is no unprece- 
dented procedure. If a stranger were passing through our neigh- 
borhood, and we were desirous to know whence he came, it would 
not be unnatural to propose the inquiry to the man himself. If 
there were about him marks of honesty and simplicity of character, 
and if, after our most careful investigations, it should appear that 

1 2 Tim. iii. 16. a 1 Cor. xiv. 37. 

3 2 Peter i. 19, 20, 21 ; MachnigTifs Translation. 



28 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

he has no evil design to accomplish, and no interest to promote hy 
deceiving us, we should rely on the information we derive from him. 
Such a stranger is the Bible ; and why may we not rely on its tes- 
timony concerning itself? Nay, it is not a stranger. Though 
claiming a heavenly origin, it has long dwelt on earth, and gone in 
and out among us, a familiar companion. We have been accus- 
tomed to hear its words ; and have known them to be tried with 
every suspicion, and every scrutiny, and no falsehood has been 
detected. More, it has been among us as a teacher of truth and 
sincerity ; and truth and sincerity have abounded just in propor- 
tion as its teachings have been heeded. Old men of deceit have 
shrunk from its probings, and trembled at its threatenings ; and 
young men have been taught by it to put away all lying and hypo- 
crisy. Can it be that the Bible itself is a deceiver and impostor ? 
Impossible ! It must be, what it claims to be, a book from heaven 
— the Book of God. 

The truth that the Bible is from God, is not only testified by the 
inspired men who wrote it, but it is established by many other de- 
cisive proofs, some of which we shall proceed to consider. 

The Divine origin of the Bible is proved by the character of 
the revelation which it contains. 

The character of God, as exhibited in the Bible, cannot be of 
human origin. We know what sort of gods men make ; for they 
have multiplied them without number. They carve deities from 
blocks of wood and stone, and worship them with stupid adoration ; 
but this is not the most debasing and abominable idolatry of which 
they are guilty. Their vain imaginations fashion gods more vile 
than these. The blocks of wood or stone may take the form of 
birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things ; but the deities which 
derive their origin from the imaginations of men have passions and 
propensities that are beastly, and even worse than beastly. Such 
are the objects which they worship with laborious and costly devo- 
tion. Let any man visit the temples of the heathen, observe their 
horrid ceremonies, and study the character of their gods ; and then 
let him say whether these gods, and the God of the Bible, are from 
one common origin. 

Some objectors may allege that the deities to which we have 
referred are those of uncivilized tribes. What then ? Were the 
gods of the most civilized nations better than these ? What wero 



ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 29 

the divinities which were worshipped by the ancient Greeks and 
Romans, even by their sages and philosophers, whose talents and 
genius have been admired in every age ? Jupiter, their Optimus 
Maximus, best and greatest, was a monster of crime ; and Yenus, 
Bacchus, Mercury, Mars, and the rest of their deities, were his fit 
companions. They were patrons and examples of vice. The in- 
fidel Rousseau has drawn their character correctly. " Cast your 
eyes over all the nations of the world, and all the histories of na- 
tions. Amid so many inhuman and absurd superstitions, amid that 
prodigious diversity of manners and characters, you will find every 
where the same principles and distinctions of moral good and evil. 
The paganism of the ancient world produced, indeed, abominable 
gods, who on earth would have been shunned or punished as mon- 
sters, and who offered as a picture of supreme happiness only crimes 
to commit and passions to satiate. But vice, armed with this 
sacred authority, descended in vain from the eternal abode ; she 
found, in the heart of man, a moral instinct to repel her. The 
continence of Xenocrates was admired by those who celebrated 
the debaucheries of Jupiter — the chaste Lucretia adored the un- 
chaste Yenus — the most intrepid Roman sacrificed to Fear. He 
invoked the god who dethroned his father, and he died without a 
murmur by the hand of his own. The most contemptible divinities 
were served by the greatest men. The holy voice of Nature, 
stronger than that of the gods, made itself heard, and respected, 
and obeyed on earth, and seemed to banish as it were to the con- 
finement of heaven, guilt, and the guilty." 1 

Go now to the Pantheon, and study the character and works of 
Rome's innumerable deities. After infidelity has acknowledged 
that they are monsters, more vicious than men, and sending forth 
a corrupting influence into human society, invite her to study the 
character of Jehovah, the God of the Bible, a Spirit, whose form 
cannot be represented ; a Being whose eyes cannot behold iniquity, 
who is glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, and doing wonders ; 
and who requires to be worshipped in the beauty of holiness. Let 
her stand with Moses in the cleft of the rock, and hear the Lord 
proclaim his name : " The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gra- 
cious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping 

1 Brown's Philosophy of the Human Mind, vol. iii. p. 138. 



30 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and 
sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." 1 Surely she 
will bow her head with reverence, and confess, this is the voice of 
God. 

The account of the life and character of Christ given in the 
gospels, is not a fiction of human invention. The introduction of 
Christianity, its existence in the world, the persecutions which it 
has encountered, its spread in spite of opposition, and the influence 
which it has exerted on nations and governments, are all so inter- 
woven with the history of the last eighteen hundred years, that all 
history must be doubted, if these are fables. The evidence that 
there were such men as Alexander and Julius Caesar, is not so 
abundant and indisputable as that Jesus Christ appeared at the 
time and place stated in the gospels. The accounts of his life, 
sufferings, and death, given by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 
come down to us with all the marks of authentic history. No 
signs of fraud can be detected in the narratives. The admirable 
simplicity of the writers, their ingenuousness in relating the faults 
and weaknesses of their own characters, their artlessness in de- 
picting the sublime virtues of their Master, and recording his 
stupendous works, and the unimpassioned manner in which they 
described the cruel treatment he received from his persecutors and 
murderers ; all these considerations place the truth of their narra- 
tives beyond question. Add to all this, that they had sufficient 
means of knowing the truth of the facts which they have recorded ; 
that they attested the sincerity of their faith in them by enduring 
tortures and death ; and that those who received their testimony, 
and transmitted it to us, testified their faith in it by like endurance. 
No other facts in the history of the world have evidence so strong. 
But if this evidence can be rejected, an insuperable difficulty still 
remains. It is impossible to account for the existence of the gos- 
pels on any other supposition, than that they are what they pro- 
fess to be, true delineations of a real character. The authors were 
incapable of conceiving such a fiction. Even such men as Virgil 
and Homer were incapable of such an effort. They could conceive 
and describe such characters as iEneas and Ulysses, but not such 
a character as Jesus Christ. Besides, the learning of the world 

1 Ex. xxxiv. 6, 7. 



ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 31 

was arrayed against Christianity ; and to the unlearned and hum- 
ble fishermen of Galilee the task was assigned of recording the 
life and works of Jesus of Nazareth. That such men should have 
transmitted to succeeding ages a fiction such as this, is incredible 
— impossible. Another quotation from Rousseau will show the 
overpowering influence of these considerations on the mind of an 
infidel: "I will confess to you further, that the majesty of the 
Scripture strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the gospel 
hath its influence on my heart. Peruse the works of our philoso- 
phers, with all their pomp of diction- — how mean — how contempt- 
ible — are they, compared with the Scripture ! Is it possible, that 
a book at once so simple and sublime should be merely the work 
of man ? Is it possible that the sacred personage whose history it 
contains should be himself a mere man ? Do we find that he as- 
sumed the air of an enthusiast or ambitious sectary ? What sweet- 
ness, what purity in his manner ! What an affecting gracefulness 
in his delivery ! What sublimity in his maxims ! What profound 
wisdom in his discourses ! What presence of mind ! What sub- 
tilty. What truth in his replies ! How great the command over 
his passions ! Where is the man, where the philosopher, who could 
so live and die, without weakness and without ostentation ? Shall 
we suppose the Evangelic History a mere fiction ? Indeed, my 
friend, it bears not the marks of fiction. On the contrary, the 
history of Socrates, which nobody presumes to doubt, is not so 
well attested as that of Jesus Christ. The Jewish authors were 
incapable of the diction, and strangers to the morality contained 
in the gospels ; the marks of whose truth are so striking and in- 
vincible, that the inventor would be a more astonishing character 
than the hero." x 

If the gospels give a true account of Jesus Christ, he was a 
teacher from heaven ; and both the doctrine which he taught, and 
the Scriptures, to which he often appealed as of divine authority, 
are from God. 

The method of salvation revealed in the Bible is not a human 
device. The preaching of Christ crucified was to the Jews a stum- 
bling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness, yet salvation by the 
Cross is the grand peculiarity of the gospel. Were Christianity 

1 Fuller's Works, vol. ii. p. 69. 



32 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

a cunningly-devised fable, a doctrine so offensive to mankind would 
not have been made prominent in the scheme. To this day, men 
of proud intellect and corrupt heart reject the doctrine of salvation 
by the obedience and sufferings of another. To the humble and 
contrite, oppressed with a sense of sin, and seeking, from the bor- 
ders of despair, some divine method of escape from the wrath to 
come, this doctrine is thrice welcome ; but the humble and contrite 
are not the men to cheat the world with a forged system of religion. 

The blessings which the Bible confers on mankind have their 
origin in infinite Benevolence. 

Compare the condition of those nations where Paganism reigns, 
with that of the nations where the most corrupt forms of Chris- 
tianity exist, and you will find the latter preferable. Institute 
another comparison between these, and the lands where a purer 
Christianity prevails, and where the Bible, instead of being with- 
held from the common people, is open to the reading of all, and 
you will perceive a far better state of human society, where the 
Sacred Volume is best known. Compare, again, in these most 
favored lands, the families where the Bible is least regarded, with 
those in which its doctrines are revered and its precepts obeyed, 
and you will be sensible that a heavenly influence pervades the 
latter. But even in such families as these, the individual members 
often differ widely from each other. Though they may all worship 
at the same altar, and read the same Bible, some have the word of 
truth on their lips only, while others treasure it up deep in their 
hearts, and find it sweeter to their taste than honey and the honey- 
comb. What elevation of character, what pure and unsullied bliss 
do the latter enjoy ! Take, lastly, an individual of the last most 
favored class, and compare the different moments of his life — those 
in which the Bible is least regarded, with those in which he feasts 
on its truths and promises, and experiences joy unspeakable and 
full of glory, while he receives the divine word into his heart ; and 
you will have a full view of the blessed influence which the Bible 
can impart. We know that the sun is a source of light and heat, 
because all is dark and cold when his beams are absent ; and light 
and heat are found to increase in proportion as we draw nearer to 
him. Precisely so it is with the Bible. From Paganism, cold and 
dark, where the Bible is unknown, to the saint in his most raptu- 
rous devotions, when he has the sweetest foretaste of heaven which 



ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 33 

mortals on earth can enjoy ; the light of truth which fills the un- 
derstanding, and the warmth of love which glows in the heart, bear 
an exact proportion to the proximity of the Bible. If the sun, 
which enlightens the material world, is the work of a benevolent 
Creator, much more may we ascribe to the same benevolence the 
authorship of the Bible, the source of spiritual illumination. 

Having compared the Bible to the sun, it may be a fit occasion 
to remark that both these lights have their darknesses — the Bible 
its obscurities, and the sun its spots. The Deist may cavil at the 
one, and the Atheist at the other ; but the cavils of both are alike 
absurd and unavailing. Because there are spots in the sun, shall 
we conclude that God did not make it, or that it is not a blessing 
to mankind ? Yet this conclusion would not be more irrational 
than to deny that God is the author of the Bible, or that the Bible 
is a blessing to the world, because there are obscurities found in its 
pages. Suppose it be admitted that the spots in the sun, and the 
obscurities in the Bible are imperfections, is God the author of 
nothing in which imperfections exist ? If everything material, and 
everything human, be marked with imperfection, may not God 
nevertheless glorify himself by things material and human ? The 
new Jerusalem has no need of a material sun to enlighten it, be- 
cause the glory of God and the Lamb is the light thereof; but God 
has fixed the sun in the firmament to enlighten this world of mat- 
ter ; and the sun in the firmament, notwithstanding its spots, de- 
clares its Maker's glory. So God may make revelation of Himself 
to the pure intelligences of heaven in language free from human 
imperfection ; but when He speaks to mortals on earth, He uses 
the language of mortals ; and whatever may be the imperfection 
of the medium, this revelation of God displays his glory in the 
brightest light in which human eyes can behold it. 

But are the spots in the sun and the obscurities in the Bible to 
be accounted imperfections ? The light of the sun is pure and 
abundant ; and, if it were deficient, the deficiency might be sup- 
plied, as well by enlarging the sun, as by removing its spots. It 
would, therefore, be as rational to complain that the sun is not 
larger, as to complain that there are spots in its disc. In like 
manner, the light of God's Word is pure, and sufficient to make 
men wise to salvation ; . and we might as well complain that the 
Bible is not larger, as that it contains obscurities. Besides, the 
3 



34 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

obscurities of the Bible may bave a beneficial use. If, as some 
astronomers suppose, the solar spots are the body of the sun, seen, 
through the partings of its luminous atmosphere, they can scarcely 
be deemed imperfections ; much less can they be so regarded, if 
they are streams of gas rising in the sun's atmosphere, and diffusing 
itself to become fuel for the lamp of day. According to the latter 
hypothesis, the spots are as far from being imperfections, as are 
the clouds that sometimes darken our sky, but which are the rich 
sources of the earth's fertility, and the granaries of our bread. So, 
some of the obscurities of the Bible are the deep things of God, 
seen through the light of revelation — the inscrutable mystery of 
the divine nature appearing through the light with which He has 
clothed Himself. Other mysteries are, in process of time, dissi- 
pated ; and, like clouds which burst, pour out a blessing. It was 
a mystery "that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and partakers 
of the promise of Christ by the gospel ;" but in due time this mys- 
tery was explained, and' the bursting cloud poured the richest 
blessing on all the Gentile world. The Old Testament dispensation 
was dark, abounding with shadows of good things to come; but 
since the Sun of Righteousness has arisen, the dark places have 
been illuminated, and are full of instruction. Prophecies have 
been delivered in obscure language ; but their fulfilment has inter- 
preted them. Some obscurities have given occasion to the infidel 
to charge the Bible with contradictions ; but a careful examination 
of the inspired word has not only served to repel the charge by 
reconciling the apparent discrepancies, but it has added new proof 
that the Scriptures were written by undesigning and honest men, 
without any collusion ; and that there is perfect harmony in their 
statements, even when apparently most discordant. Men of supe- 
rior intellect may find a pleasant and profitable exercise of their 
powers in investigating those parts of the Bible which are less 
clear ; while its plainest truths are adapted to men of least capa- 
city, and are sufficient for their necessities. Here are waters in 
which " a lamb may wade," and in which " an elephant may swim." 
There is yet another use of Bible obscurities. When God gave a 
law to mankind, he did not give one which it was impossible to 
violate, but one which men, as free agents, might violate, and by 
violating bring ruin on their souls. So, when he gave a revelation 
to mankind, he did not give one which could not be caviled at, but 



ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 35 

one at which men might cavil, and, by caviling, bring wrath upon 
themselves. The obscurities of the Bible serve for this use ; for 
the Bible itself declares, that it contains " some things hard to be 
understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest unto 
their own destruction." Let those who choose rather to cavil at 
the obscurities of the Bible, than to walk in its light, read this 
declaration, and fear and tremble. 

The revelations contained in the Bible have the attestation of 
miracles. It is a plain dictate of common sense, that Almighty 
God, who created and governs the world, may direct its movements 
as He chooses. He appointed the laws of Nature, and He may 
suspend these laws whenever He pleases, and turn the course of 
things out of the ordinary channel. It is equally clear, that none 
but the Author of Nature can eifect such changes. It follows, 
therefore, that miracles, if wrought in attestation of a revelation 
professing to be from Heaven, stamp upon it the seal of Omnipo- 
tence. Persons who saw such miracles wrought, reasoned well 
when they said : " We know that thou art a teacher come from 
God ; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God 
be with him." 

Though miracles furnished, to those who saw them with their own 
eyes, a more impressive evidence than to us who see them through 
the light of history, yet the argument founded on them is perfectly 
conclusive, even at the present time. That Moses and the pro- 
phets, Christ and his apostles, performed works truly miraculous, 
is as well attested as any ancient fact whatever. The character of 
the works attributed to them, their number, the circumstances in 
which they were performed, the absence of everything indicating 
fraud or imposture, the sufferings by which the witnesses demon- 
strated their sincerity, the credence which their testimony obtained 
rapidly and extensively, and in the face of bitter persecution, and 
the absence of all counter testimony ; all these considerations com- 
pel the belief that miracles were wrought, and if wrought, the 
revelation which they attest must be from God. The evidence, 
though it may be less impressive, is not less decisive than it would 
have been if we had personally witnessed the miracles. 

We are not wholly indebted for the evidence of miracles, to the 
light of history. It does not need historical proof to satisfy our 
minds that the pyramids of Egypt were built by human labor and 



86 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

skill. We are as well satisfied of this, as if we had seen them rise 
under the hands of the workmen. We know that they are the 
work of man, because they resemble, in kind, other works of man. 
But he who gazes on these stupendous structures, may turn his eyes 
to the great globe beneath them, and feel equally well assured that 
it is not the work of man. So, in contemplating a system of hea- 
then mythology or philosophy, we may be convinced that it is of 
human origin, because it bears the marks of man's workmanship ; 
but in contemplating the Bible, and the religion which it has intro- 
duced into the world, we may be as well assured that the origin of 
these is superhuman. A system so destitute of everything which 
could recommend it to the carnal mind, and claiming to be attested 
"with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles," could not, in 
the absence of such miracles, obtain, according to the ordinary 
course of things, easy and extensive credence among mankind, and 
become firmly established in . their confidence. The propagation, 
in such circumstances, must itself have been miraculous. It is of 
no importance to the present argument, whether the miracle was 
wrought before the eyes of him who received the doctrine, or on 
his mind, to incline him to receive it. In either case, there was a 
miracle, an interposition of Divine Power, and such an interposi- 
tion demonstrated that the doctrine was from God. 

The Prophecies which the Bible contains, must have proceeded 
from infallible foreknowledge. This is proved by their exact 
fulfilment. 

Daniel prophesied to Nebuchadnezzar, the proud head of the 
Babylonian empire, then in its glory and strength, that this empire 
would give place to three others which were to arise after it. 1 This 
succession of empires, the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Gre- 
cian, and the Roman, is more fully described afterward in the pro- 
phecies of Daniel, together with a series of events extending down 
to the present time. 2 More than a century before the time of 
Daniel, the prophet Isaiah predicted 3 the taking of Babylon by 
the Persians, who were, at the time of the prediction, a feeble and 
obscure nation. He foretold the very name of the Persian leader, 
and the manner of his entrance into the city, through gates which, 
by a special ordering of Providence, were carelessly left open by 

1 Dan. ii. 39, 45. 2 Ch. vii; 12. 3 Is. xxi. 9 ; xlv. 1, 3. 



ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 37 

the Babylonians in their drunken festivity. Other prophets fore- 
told the destruction and final desolation of Babylon, 1 and of Nine- 
veh; 2 the overthrow of ancient Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, 3 and 
afterward of insular Tyre by Alexander, 4 and the decline and pre- 
sent state of Egypt, 5 once the proudest of nations. All these pre- 
dictions were made when the events predicted were so improbable, 
that they could not be foreknown by any human sagacity ; yet 
history, and the reports of travellers, attest their exact accom- 
plishment. Many other examples of fulfilled prophecy might rea- 
dily be cited. 

The prophecies concerning the Jews are remarkable, and we 
refer to them with the more satisfaction, because the reader has 
probably, to some extent, personal knowledge of the facts pre- 
dicted. These people are scattered through our nation, and through 
most of the nations on earth. Their synagogues, in which they 
meet to worship the God of their fathers, are found in all our prin- 
cipal cities. The Scriptures of the Old Testament are regularly 
read in their public worship, and are regarded with religious vene- 
ration, as their sacred book, received from God by their ancient 
prophets, and handed down to them from their forefathers. This 
book minutely describes, 6 in the language of prediction, the suffer- 
ings -which they have undergone ; their wonderful preservation as 
a distinct people, notwithstanding these sufferings, and their dis- 
persed condition among all nations. Other ancient tribes, when 
scattered, have been lost in the general mass of mankind ; but 
these people, after centuries of dispersion and persecution, still 
remain distinct, and stand forth to the world as witnesses of the 
wonderful fulfilment of the predictions respecting them, uttered 
by their ancient prophets. 

The sacred writings of the Jews not only contain predictions of 
the dispersion, sufferings, and wonderful preservation of this peo- 
ple, but also furnish explanation of these extraordinary events. 
The book describes a covenant between this nation and the God 
whom they worship, and its records show that they have repeatedly 
violated this covenant, and suffered the threatened penalty. The 
whole history of the nation illustrates the dealings of God with 



1 Jer. li. 2 Nahum i, iii. 3 Ezek. xxvi. 7, 11. 

4 Ibid, xxvii. 32. 6 Ibid. xxix. 6 Lev. xxvi ; Deut. xxvii. xxx. 



88 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

them, in accordance with the stipulations of this covenant. Once 
before, as a punishment of their unfaithfulness, they were driven 
from their land into captivity for seventy years, yet they were pre- 
served and brought back. The prophetic declarations of their 
sacred volume explain that their present dispersion and sufferings 
are, in like manner, in consequence of their crimes, and that their 
preservation is in prospect of another restoration. Their condi- 
tion, therefore, resembles that of a malefactor nailed to the cross, 
with his accusation written over his head ; a fit punishment for the 
nation that crucified the Lord of glory. They hold in their hands 
the book which specifies their crimes and predicts their sufferings, 
and they furnish, in their persons, the spectacle of these predic- 
tions fulfilled. They not only claim that their book is divine, but 
they are the proof of its divinity. 

The Jews may be made witnesses for the New Testament also, 
which they reject, and for Christianity, which they hate. What 
crime so great, has extended their dispersion and sufferings through 
the long period of eighteen centuries ? The New Testament gives 
the only satisfactory answer to this inquiry, and it answers in per- 
fect accordance with their own Scriptures. They have rejected 
and crucified their King, their long-expected Messiah, whom their 
prophets had foretold. It was predicted that he would appear 
before the tribe of Judah should become extinct, or should cease 
to maintain a distinct government of its own ; 1 before the second 
temple should be destroyed ; 2 and in 490 years from the decree of 
Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem. 3 At this time Jesus Christ appeared, 
claiming to be their Messiah, and furnishing most abundant proofs 
that he came from God ; yet, as their prophets had foretold, they 
rejected him, 4 and united with Gentile rulers to destroy him. 5 Their 
own Scriptures, and their confessed hatred of Jesus Christ, fully 
make out the crime for which they suffer, and these unite with the 
known fact of their sufferings to demonstrate the Messiahship of 
Jesus and the divine origin of Christianity. 

The New Testament contains various predictions 6 which have 
been exactly fulfilled concerning the destruction of Jerusalem; 
the calamities of the Jews ; their dispersion and their preservation ; 

1 Gen. xlix. 10. 2 Haggai ii. 7, 9. 3 Dan. ix. 24-27. 4 Is. liii. 3. 
6 Ps. ii. 1, 2. 6 Matt, xxiv ; Mark xiii ; Luke xxi. 



AUTHOKITY OF THE BIBLE. 39 

also concerning the persecutions of Christianity ; its spread through 
the world, and the Papal Apostasy. 1 Besides these, it contains 
predictions, yet not accomplished, of the conversion of the Gen- 
tiles, the restoration of the Jews, and the millennial state of the 
Church. When these shall have been fulfilled, the prophetical 
evidence now constantly accumulating will be complete. 

In concluding this brief inqiry into the origin of the Bible, we 
may admire and adore the wonderful providence of God, which ha<* 
made his enemies the preservers and witnesses of his revelation. 
The Jews, who killed the prophets and crucified the Son of God 
himself, have preserved and transmitted the Scriptures of the Old 
Testament, and are now witnesses to the world of its divine origin, 
and the truth of its prophecies. The Roman Catholic Church, the 
great Antichrist, or man of sin, drunk with the blood of the saints, 
has transmitted to us the Scriptures of the New Testament, and 
now gives, in the same two-fold manner, its testimony to this part 
of the Sacred Volume. Even the infidel scoffer is made an uncon- 
scious witness. In its pages, his very scoffs are predicted, and his 
corrupt heart, from which, rather than from sober judgment, these 
scoffs proceed, is portrayed with an accuracy and skill which be- 
speak the Author divine, the Searcher of hearts. The word which 
"is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, 
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the 
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents 
of the heart," must be "the word of God." Even the reluctant 
tongue of the infidel, as in the case of Rousseau, is sometimes con- 
strained to utter its testimony aloud; and at other times, when 
danger comes or death threatens, his alarm and terror divulge the 
truth, that his rock is not as our rock, himself being judge. Un- 
happy infidel ! Is there a God ? Hast thou an immortal soul ? 
Until thou canst, with unfaltering hardihood, answer, No to both 
these inquiries, do not cast away from thee the Bible, the Book 
of God, the Light of immortality. 

II. AUTHOKITY. 

Though the Bible was written by inspired men, they are to be 
regarded merely as the instruments chosen, fitted, and employed 

1 2 Thess. ii. 3-12; 1 John ii. 18 ; 1 Tim. iv. 1-3. 



40 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

by God, for the production of this work. God himself is the 
author of the Bible. When we read its sacred pages, we should 
realize that God speaks to us, and when we suffer it to lie neglected, 
we should remember that we are refusing to listen to God, when he 
proffers to instruct us on subjects of infinite moment. 

The Bible contains the testimony of God, and is therefore a Rule 
of Faith. The declarations of an honest man ought to be believed, 
much more ought those which are made by the God of truth ; "if 
we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater." 
To reject the testimony of God, is to make him a liar. To call a 
fellow-man a liar, is to offer an insult of the grossest character. 
This insult we offer to the great God, when we refuse to receive 
his testimony, given to us in his holy Word. 

The Bible contains the precepts of God, and is therefore a Rule 
of Duty. We are bound to obey the commands of parents and 
civil rulers, but God has a higher claim on our obedience. He is 
our Father in heaven, and the Supreme Lawgiver of the universe. 
Against this high authority we rebel, when we refuse to obey the 
precepts of the Bible. 

The Bible contains the promises of God, and is therefore a Rule 
of Hope. It determines, not only what we are to believe and to 
do, but also what we are to expect. It presents, as the foundation 
of our hope, the promise and the oath of God, two immutable things, 
in which it is impossible for God to lie. We look to him as the 
rewarder of those that diligently seek him, and all our confidence 
respecting the nature and extent of this reward, and the certainty 
of our obtaining it, is founded on the sure word of prophecy, the 
Bible. 

Whether, as a rule of faith, of duty, or of hope, the authority 
of the Bible is supreme. We may rely on the testimony of men, 
but they sometimes deceive us. We may regulate ofir conduct by 
the command of those who are over us, or by the dictates of our 
own conscience, but rulers may command what is wrong, and con- 
science is not infallible. We may cherish hopes founded on human 
promises, or the natural tendencies of things, but human promises 
are often delusive, and the promises of Nature are buds which, 
however beautiful and fragrant, are often blasted before they pro- 
duce fruit. God never deceives. " The grass withereth, and the 
flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 41 

forever." When the Bible speaks, all else may be silent, and its 
decisions leave no room for doubt and admit no appeal. 

The authority of the Bible is independent. It was not conferred 
on it by the inspired men who wrote it ; nor does it derive any from 
the persons who have transmitted it to us. The purest church on 
earth cannot invest it with authority ; much less can the corrupt 
Church of Rome. The inspired writers referred the authority of 
what they wrote to God ; and here it must rest. The transcribers 
of the manuscripts, who have been the agents of Providence in 
preserving and transmitting the Sacred "Volume to us, and the 
printers and bookbinders by whose labors this volume is so widely 
circulated, have conferred no authority on it, and it has received 
as little from the Church of Rome as from these. It possesses 
authority simply because it is the word of God. 

The authority of the Bible is immediate. Its address is directly 
from God, and directly to the mind and heart of every individual 
reader. We have no mediator but Christ, and no infallible inter- 
preter but the Holy Spirit. We may derive assistance from men 
in understanding the Bible, but they have no right to understand 
it for us. We should employ our own minds in the study of God's 
Word, and allow no human interpreter to intervene between God 
and our own conscience. We should say, each one for himself, 
" Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." 

What a precious gift is the Bible ! Who will not prize it? Who 
will not bind it to his heart ? We stand on the narrow isthmus of 
life, between two oceans, the boundless past and the boundless 
future. The records of eternity past are beyond our reach, but 
the Ancient of Days has opened them, and has revealed to us in 
the Bible whatever it is necessary that we should know. The van- 
ishing present is all important to us, because on it depends our 
everlasting all, but who will instruct us how to use the swiftly pass- 
ing moments as we ought ? The only wise God has condescended 
to speak to us in the Bible, and to teach us how to order our steps 
in life's short way, so as to insure life eternal. The future world 
is just before us. For myself, I realize that I am standing on the 
shore of the boundless ocean, with but an inch of crumbling sand 
remaining. I hear the shrieks of the dying infidel at my side, to 
whose view all is covered with impenetrable darkness. He, too, 
has come to the brink, and would gladly refuse to proceed, but he 



42 STUDY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 

cannot. Perplexed, terrified, shuddering, he plunges in and sinks, 
he knows not whither. How precious, at this trying moment, is 
the Book of God ! How cheering this Light from heaven ! Before 
it I see the shades retiring. The Bible lifts its torch — nay, not a 
feeble torch, such as reason may raise, to shine on the darkness 
and render it visible ; the Bible sheds the light of the noonday sun 
on the vast prospect before me, and enables me, tranquil and joy- 
ful, to launch into eternity with the full assurance of hope. Mor- 
tals, hastening to the retributions of eternity, be wise ; receive the 
revelation from heaven presented to you in the Bible ; attend dili- 
gently to its instructions, and reverence its authority, as the word 
of the final Judge before whom you will soon appear. 



BOOK SECOND. 
DOCTEINE CONCERNING GOD 



INTRODUCTION. 

DUTY OF LOVE TO GOD. 

" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy might." 1 In this manner the 
Bible commands the chief of all duties. No reasons are assigned 
for the requirement. No proof is adduced that God exists, or that 
he possesses such perfections as entitle him to the supreme love of 
his creatures. Jehovah steps forth before the subjects of his go- 
vernment, and issues his command. He waits for no formal intro- 
duction. He lifts up his voice with majesty. Without promise, 
and without threat, he proclaims his law, and leaves his subjects to 
their responsibility. 

From the manner of this announcement, we maj derive instruc- 
tion. It is not necessary that we should enter into a formal de- 
monstration that God exists, or a formal investigation of his attri- 
butes, before we begin the duty of loving him. We already know 
enough of him for this ; and to postpone the performance of the 
duty until we have completed our investigations, is to commence 
them with unsanctified hearts, and in rebellion against God. From 
the dawn of our being we have had demonstrations of God's exist- 
ence and character, blazing around us like the light of noonday. 
The heavens and the earth have declared his glory ; his ministers 
and people have proclaimed his name ; he is not to us an unknown 
God, except so far as our minds are wilfully blind to the displays 
of his glory. If, therefore, we withhold the affections of our 
hearts, we can have no excuse in the plea that more evidence is 

1 Deut. vi. 5. 

(43) 



44 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

needed. And with hearts so alienated from God at the outset, all 
our religious inquiries are likely to be unprofitable. What pro- 
bability is there that further proof "will produce its proper impres- 
sion and effect on our minds, if that which is already in our pos- 
session is unheeded or abused ? If, from what we already know of 
God, we admire and love him, we shall desire to know more of him, 
and shall prosecute the study with profit and delight ; but, if we 
have already shut him out of our hearts, all our intellectual inves- 
tigations respecting him may be expected to leave us in spiritual 
blindness. 

The duty required corresponds, in character, to the religion, of 
which it is an essential part. Heathen gods could not claim the 
supreme love of their worshippers ; and heathen minds had no 
idea of a religion founded on supreme love to their deities. To 
some extent, they were objects of fear ; and much that appertained 
to their supposed character and history, served for amusement, or 
to interest the imagination ; but the conduct attributed to them 
was often such as even heathen virtue disapproved. Hence, they 
could not be objects of supreme love ; and no one claimed it for 
them. The requirement of supreme love demonstrates the religion 
of the Bible to be from the true God ; and when we begin our reli- 
gious investigations with the admission of this obligation, and the 
full recognition of it in our hearts, we may be assured that we are 
proceeding in the right way. 

The simplicity of the requirement is admirable. No explanation 
of the duty is needed. Forms of worship may be numerous and 
various, and questions may arise as to the forms which will be most 
acceptable. Many outward duties of morality are often determined 
with much difficulty. Perplexing questions arise as to the nature 
of repentance and faith, and the uninformed need instruction re- 
specting them. But no one needs to be told what love is; the 
humblest mind can understand the requirement, and may feel plea- 
sure in the consciousness of rendering obedience to it ; and the 
learned philosopher stands in the presence of this precept as a 
little child, and feels its power binding every faculty that he pos- 
sesses. This simple principle pervades all religion, and binds all 
intelligences, small and great, to God, the centre of the great 
system. Between it and the power of gravitation in the natural 



DUTY OF LOVE TO GOD. 45 

world, which hinds atoms and masses, pehhles and vast planets, a 
heautiful analogy may he traced. 

The comprehensiveness of the precept is not less admirable. 
From it rises the precept, Love thy neighbor as thyself; and on 
these two all the law rests. We love our neighbors because they 
are God's creatures, and the subjects of his government, and be- 
cause he has commanded us. We love God supremely, because he 
is the greatest and best of beings ; and we love other beings, ac- 
cording to the importance of each in the universal system of being. 
One principle pervades both precepts, as one principle of gravita- 
tion binds the earth to the sun, and the parts of the earth to each 
other. This law binds angels to the throne of God, and to each 
other ; and binds men and angels together, as fellow-subjects of 
the same sovereign. The decalogue is this law expanded, and 
adapted to the condition and relations of mankind. Love is not 
only the fulfilling of the law, but it is also the essence of gospel 
morality. All Christian obedience springs from it ; and, without 
it, no form of obedience is acceptable to God. He who loves God 
supremely, cannot be guilty of that unbelief which makes God a 
liar, and he cannot reflect on the sins which he has committed 
against God, without sincere penitence. 

We must not overlook the tendency of this precept to produce 
universal good. Every one knows how much the order and happi- 
ness found in human society, depend on love. If all kind affections 
were banished from the hearts of men, earth would be converted at 
once into a pandemonium. What love is left on earth renders it 
tolerable, and the love which reigns in heaven makes it a place of 
bliss. Perfect obedience to the great law of love is sufficient to 
render all creatures happy. It opens, within the breast, a peren- 
nial source of enjoyment ; and it meets, from without, the smile 
and blessing of an approving God. 

Though the religion of love is clearly taught in the book of God 
only, yet, when we have learned it there, we can discover its agree- 
ment with natural religion. It will be useful to observe how the 
moral tendencies of our nature accord, on this point, with the 
teachings of revelation. 

The wickedness of man has been a subject of complaint in all 
ages. The ancient heathen complained of the degeneracy of their 
times, and talked of a golden age, long passed, in which virtue 



46 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

prevailed. In modern heathen nations, together with the depra- 
vity that prevails, some sense of that depravity exists ; and every- 
where the necessity or desirableness of a more virtuous state of 
society is admitted. In Christian lands, the very infidels, who 
scoff at all religion with one breath, will, with the next, satirize the 
wickedness of mankind. It is the united judgment of every nation, 
and every age, that the practice of men falls below their own stan- 
dard of virtue. It is, therefore, necessary, in order to acquire the 
best notions of virtue that nature can give us, to turn away from 
the practice of men to those moral sentiments implanted in the 
human breast, which condemn this practice, and urge to higher 
virtue. 

It is well known that men judge the actions of others with more 
severity than their own. Our appetites and passions interfere with 
the decisions of conscience, wnen our own conduct is the subject 
of examination. Hence, the general moral sense of mankind is a 
better standard of virtue than the individual conscience. In look- 
ing to the judgment of others, with a view to determine the mo- 
rality of our actions, the judgment of those is especially to be re- 
garded who are to be benefited or injured by our deeds. Hence, 
natural religion approves the rule — Do unto others as you would, 
in like circumstances, that they should do unto you. 

When the vice of others interferes with our happiness, we are 
then most keenly sensible of its existence and atrocity. However 
vague our notions of virtue may be, we always conceive of it as 
tending to promote the happiness of others. Yet it is not every 
tendency to promote happiness which we conceive to be virtuous. 
The food that we eat, and the couch on which we lie, tend to pro- 
mote our happiness ; yet we do not ascribe virtue to these inani- 
mate things. Virtue belongs only to rational and moral agents ; 
and the promotion of happiness must be intentional to be accounted 
virtuous. There is still another limitation. Men sometimes confer 
benefits on others, with the expectation of receiving greater benefits 
in return. Where the motive for the action is merely the benefit 
expected in return, the common judgment of mankind refuses to 
characterize the deed as virtuous. To constitute virtue, there must 
be an intentional promotion of happiness in others ; and this inten- 
tion must be disinterested. Natural religion does not deny that a 
higher standard of morality may exist ; but it holds that disinte- 



DUTY OP LOVE TO GOD. 47 

rested benevolence is virtue, and it determines the morality of 
actions by the disinterested benevolence which they exhibit. 

Some have maintained that self-love is the first principle of vir- 
tue, its central affection, which, spreading first to those most nearly 
related to us, extends gradually to others more remote, and widens 
at length into universal benevolence. This system of morality is 
self-contradictory. While it claims to aim at universal happiness, 
it makes it the duty of each individual to aim, not at this public 
good, but at his own private benefit. Whenever the interest of 
another comes in conflict with his own, it is made his duty to aim 
at the latter, and to promote that of his neighbor only so far as it 
may conduce to his own. It is true, that the advocates of this sys- 
tem bring in reason as a restraining influence, and suppose that it 
will so regulate the exercise of self-love as to result in the general 
good. According to this system, if we, in aiming at our own hap- 
piness, practise fraud and falsehood with a view to promote it, and 
find ourselves defeated in the attainment of our object, we may 
charge our failure, not on the virtuous principle by which it is as- 
sumed that we have been moved, but on the failure of our reason 
to restrain and regulate it so as to attain its end. If it be said, 
that conscience will not permit us to be happy in the practise of 
fraud and falsehood, and that self-love, aware of this, avoids those 
practices so inconsistent with our internal peace, it is clearly ad- 
mitted that conscience is a higher principle of our nature, to the 
decisions of which our self-love is compelled to yield. 

As virtue aims at the general good, it must favour the means 
necessary for the attainment of this end. Civil government and 
laws, enacted and executed in wisdom and justice, are highly con- 
ducive to the general welfare, and these receive the approbation 
and support of the virtuous. Were an individual of our race, by 
a happy exception to the general rule, born with a virtuous bias 
of the mind, instead of the selfish propensity natural to mankind ; 
and were this virtuous bias fostered and developed in his education, 
he would be found seeking the good of all. His first benefits con- 
ferred, would be on those nearest to him ; but his disinterested 
benevolence would not stop here. As his acquaintance extended 
into the ramifications of society, his desire and labour for the 
general good would extend with it, and civil government, whole- 
some laws, and every institution tending to public benefit, would 



48 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

receive his cordial approbation and support ; and every wise and 
righteous governor, and every subordinate individual, aiming at 
the public good, would be an object of his favour. If we suppose 
the knowledge of this individual to increase, and his virtuous prin- 
ciples to expand, widening the exercise of universal benevolence ; 
and if, at length, the idea of a God, a being of every possible moral 
excellence, the wise and righteous governor of the universe, should 
be presented ; how would his heart be affected ? Here his virtuous 
principles would find occasion for their highest exercise, and would 
grow into religious devotion. This glorious being would have the 
highest place in his admiration and love ; and the discovery of his 
universal dominion would produce ineffable joy. Such are the 
affections of heart which even natural religion teaches, that the 
knowledge of God's existence and perfections ought to produce. 

In God's written Word, we learn our duty in a reverse method. 
We are not left to trace it out by a slow process, beginning with 
the first exercise of moral principle in the heart, and rising at 
length to the infinite God ; but the existence and character of God 
are immediately presented, and the first and chief of all duties is 
at once announced : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart." How sublime ! how appropriate ! The virtuous mind 
is open to receive such a revelation ; and its perfect accordance 
with the best teachings of natural religion, recommends it to our 
understandings and our hearts. The second commandment, " Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," is introduced, not as leading to 
the first, but as subordinate to it. It takes the place which pro- 
perly belongs to it in a revelation from the supreme authority. 

Love has been divided into benevolence, beneficence, and com- 
placence. This division may at first appear inconsistent with the 
simplicity which has been ascribed to love. Benevolence is the 
disposition to do good to an object, and beneficence is the confer- 
ring of that good. The latter is not properly love, but the effect 
or manifestation of it. On the other hand, complacence includes 
the cause of the love together with the affection itself. Love may 
be exercised toward an unworthy object, as when God loves those 
who are dead in trespasses and sins. But it may be exercised to- 
ward those whose moral character renders them fit objects. In 
this case, the love being connected with approbation of the cha- 
racter beloved, is called complacence. When love has an inani- 



DUTY OF LOVE TO GOD. 4S 

mate thing for its object, as when Isaac loved savory meat, the 
term refers to the deriving of enjoyment ; but when the object of 
love is a sentient being, the term always implies the conferring of 
enjoyment, even when some pleasure has been received, or some 
enjoyment in return is expected. 

Love to God implies cordial approbation of his moral character. 
His natural attributes, eternity, immensity, omnipotence, &c, may 
fill us with admiration ; but these are not the proper objects- of 
love. If we worship him in the beauty of holiness, the beauty of 
his holiness must excite the love of our hearts. As our knowledge 
of these moral perfections increases, our delight in them must in- 
crease ; and this delight will stimulate to further study of them ; 
and to a more diligent observation of the various methods in which 
they are manifested. The display of them, even in the most ter- 
rible exhibitions of his justice, will be contemplated with reverent, 
but approving awe ; and their united glory, as seen in the great 
scheme of redemption by Christ, will be viewed with unmixed and 
never-ceasing delight. 

Love to God includes joy in his happiness. He is not only per- 
fectly holy, but perfectly happy ; and it is our duty to rejoice in 
his happiness. In loving our neighbor, we rejoice in his present 
happiness, and desire to increase it. We cannot increase the 
already perfect happiness of God, but we can rejoice in that which 
he possesses. If we delight in the happiness of God, we shall 
labor to please him in all things, to do whatever he commands, and 
to advance all the plans, the accomplishment of which he has so 
much at heart. Love, therefore, includes obedience to his com- 
mands, and resignation and submission to his will. 

Love to God will render it a pleasing task to examine the proofs 
of his existence, and to study those glorious attributes which render 
him the worthy object of supreme affection. Let us enter on this 
study, prompted by holy love, and a strong desire that our love 
may be increased. 



50 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

CHAPTER I. 

existence op god. 

There is a God. 1 

The doctrine that God exists, is not now to be demonstrated as 
a new truth. It has been supposed in all the preceding pages ; 
and the proofs of it have been brought to view, in various ways. 
But, for the sake of systematic arrangement, it will be proper to 
collect these proofs under one head ; and a clearer statement of 
them will tend to the confirmation of our faith. 

1. Our moral nature demonstrates the existence of God. 

Our moral nature is adapted to moral government. "We find 
this government within us administered by conscience, and it meets 
us from without in the influence which we experience from the 
moral judgments and feelings of others. It restrains our appetites 
and passions ; and, however unwelcome this restraint may be to 
our vicious propensities, every one knows that it is conducive to 
his well-being. 

We are social as well as moral beings. The circumstances in 
which we enter the world, and the propensities which we bring with 
us, unite to render the establishment of society necessary. The 
birds congregate in flocks, and the bees in swarms, and their in- 
stincts are adapted to the social relations which they form. To 
man in society, moral principles are indispensable. Banish from 
every member of human society the restraints which his conscience 
and the moral sense of the community impose on him, and you will 
desolate the earth, or convert it into a hell. Brute-force, and dia- 
bolical cunning, under the dominion of lawless passions, will take 
the mastery of the world, and fill it with wretchedness. 

From the combined influence of our moral and social principles, 
civil governments have originated, and their existence has been 
found by experience indispensable to the well-being of society. 
These governments have differed very widely in their degrees of 
excellence ; and some of them have been most unrighteously and 

1 Gen. i. 1 ; Ps. xiv. 1 ; Mark xii. 32 ; 1 Cor. viii. 6 ; Heb. iii. 4. 



EXISTENCE OF GOD. 51 

cruelly administered ; yet the very worst of them has been consi- 
dered preferable to wild anarchy. 

The notion of moral government, and the feeling of its necessity, 
spring up naturally in the human mind ; but no earthly form of it 
satisfies our desires, or meets our necessities. Conscience restrains 
us ; and, when we have disregarded its monitions, stings us with re- 
morse ; but men are still wicked. Public sentiment stamps vice 
with infamy ; but, in spite of public sentiment, men are vicious. 
Civil government holds out its penalties, and the ruler brandishes 
his sword ; but men persevere in wickedness, and often with im- 
punity. The voice of nature within us calls for a government free 
from these imperfections. If, from the idea of a petty ruler over a 
single tribe or nation, we ascend to that of a moral governor over 
all intelligent creatures ; if, instead of the imperfect moral judg- 
ments and feelings which we find in men, we attribute to this uni- 
versal ruler, all possible moral perfections, if we invest him with 
knowledge sufficient to detect every crime, and power sufficient to 
manifest his disapprobation of it in the most suitable and effectual 
way ; and if this exalted sovereign, instead of being far from us, 
is brought into such a relation to us, that in him we live, move, and 
have our being; we shall have the most sublime conception of 
moral government, of which our minds are capable. This concep- 
tion is presented in the proposition, there is a God. The idea of 
God's existence, as the moral ruler of the universe, accords pre- 
cisely with the tendencies and demands of our moral nature ; and, 
without admitting it, our moral faculties and the phenomena which 
they exhibit, are totally inexplicable. 

The moral principles of our nature find occasion for development 
and exercise, in the relations which we sustain to our fellow-crea- 
tures. But, for their full development and exercise nothing furn- 
ishes opportunity, but the relation which we bear to God, and his 
universal dominion. This exercise of them constitutes religion. 
Religion is, therefore, the perfection of morality ; and the funda- 
mental doctrine of religion is the existence of God. 

2. The existence of the world and the contrivances which it con- 
tains, demonstrate the existence of God. 

While our moral nature leads us to the conception of God, as 
the moral governor of the universe, and to the belief of his exist- 
ence, our intellectual nature approaches him, as the Great First 



52 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

Cau^e. Reason traces the chain of cause and effect throughout its 
links. It finds every link dependent on that which precedes it ; 
and it asks on what does the entire chain depend ? It obtains no 
satisfactory answer to this question, until it has admitted the ex- 
istence of an eternal, self-existent, and independent being, as the 
first cause of all things. Here, and here only, the mind finds 
repose. 

The argument which has been most relied on in natural religion, 
to prove the existence of God, is derived from the indications of 
contrivance, with which Nature abounds. The adaptation of means 
to ends, and the accomplishment of purposes by contrivances of con- 
summate skill, are everywhere visible. Contrivance implies a con- 
triver. The intelligence displayed is often found in creatures that 
have no intelligence ; and in other cases, when found in intelligent 
creatures, it is manifestly not from themselves ; because it exists 
without their knowledge, and operates without their control. The 
contrivance must be referred to an intelligent First Cause. This 
argument for the existence of God, is of great practical value, be- 
cause it is presented to our minds daily, and hourly, in all the 
works of Nature. We meet it in the sun-beams, which impart to 
plants and animals, the warmth necessary to life ; and, to every 
eye, the light without which, eyes would be useless. It presents 
itself in the eyes of every man, beast, bird, fish, insect, and rep- 
tile, and is most convincingly exhibited in the arrangements for 
receiving and refracting the light, and employing it for the pur- 
poses of vision ; a contrivance as truly mechanical, and conformed 
to the laws of optics, as that which is seen in the structure of the 
telescope. We behold it in the descending shower which fertilizes 
the earth, and causes the grass to grow ; and in the bursting germ, 
the spreading blade, the rising stalk, and the ripening grain, in all 
which a skilful contrivance is displayed, that infinitely transcends 
all human art. We discover it in the instincts by which the parent 
hen hatches her eggs, and takes care of her young ; and in the adap- 
tation of every species of animals on land, in air, or in water, to 
their mode and condition of life. It is seen in the return of day 
and night, the revolution of the seasons, the wind that sweeps the 
sky, and the vapor that rises from the ocean, and floats through 
the atmosphere. We find it in the bones of the body, fitted for 
their respective motions, and in the muscles which move them ; in 



EXISTENCE OF GOD. 53 

the throbbing heart, the circulating blood, the digesting stomach, 
and the heaving lungs. In every thing which the eye beholds, or 
the mind contemplates, we discover the manifestations of the Cre- 
ator's wisdom and power. The devotional heart is struck with the 
evidence of God's existence, so abundantly displayed in all his 
handiworks, and is incited to admire and adore. The whole 
universe becomes a grand temple, pervaded with the presence and 
glory of the deity ; and every place becomes an altar, on which 
may be offered to him the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. 

3. The doctrine that there is a God, is confirmed by the com- 
mon consent of mankind. 

There have been tribes of men without literature, and, to a great 
extent, without science and arts; but the notion of an invisible, 
overruling power, with some form of religious worship, has been 
nearly, or quite universal. In this particular, man is distinguished 
from all other animals that inhabit the globe; and if there has 
been any portion of our race in whom no idea of God and religion 
has appeared, it may be said of them, that they have so far brutalized 
themselves, as to hide from view the characteristic distinctions of 
human nature. Now, however it may be accounted for, that a be- 
lief in the existence of God has prevailed so generally among man- 
kind ; the fact of its prevalence is an argument for the truth of the 
opinion. If it is an ancient revelation handed down by tradition, 
that revelation proceeded from God, and therefore proves his ex- 
istence ; and if it springs up naturally in the human mind, in the 
circumstances in which we are placed, what Nature universally 
teaches, may be received as true. 

4. Divine revelation dispels all doubt as to the existence of God. 
In the Bible, the existence of God is from the very first assumed. 

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." 1 The 
doctrine, though formally declared in scarcely a single passage, is 
represented as fundamental in religion. " He that cometh to God, 
must believe that he is;" 2 and the denial of it is attributed to 
folly; " the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." 3 The 
volume of revelation is a light emanating from the Father of lights, 
and is, of itself, an independent proof of his existence. As we 
study its pages, in his light we shall see light ; and a more realizing 

1 Gen. i. 1. * Heb. xi. 6. 3 Ps. xiv. 1. 



54 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

and abiding conviction that he, the great Source of light, exists, 
will occupy our minds. 

The perfect harmony between natural and revealed religion, with 
respect to this doctrine, confirms the teaching of both. " The 
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his 
handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night 
showeth knowledge." 1 While heaven and earth, day and night, 
speak for God, he speaks for himself in his inspired word, confirm- 
ing the testimony which they give, and completing the instruction 
which they convey. Revelation never contradicts or sets aside the 
teachings of natural religion. God affirms, that "the invisible 
things of him are from the creation of the world clearly seen, being 
understood by the things that are made ; even his eternal power 
and Godhead." 2 It is no derogation from the authority or perfec- 
tion of the Scriptures, that we study natural religion. The Scrip- 
tures themselves direct us to this study. "Ask the beasts, and 
they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell 
thee." 3 The same God who speaks to us in his word, speaks to us 
also in his works ; and in whatever manner he speaks, we should 
hear, and receive instruction. 

It is a lamentable proof of human depravity, that men should 
deny or disregard the existence of God. We read of the fool, who 
says in his heart, there is no God ; of nations that forget God ; 
and of individuals who have not God in all their thoughts. Such 
persons do not delight in God ; and therefore they say, " Depart 
from us ; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." Of such athe- 
ism, the only effectual cure is a new heart. For the occasional 
suggestion of atheistic doubts, with which a pious man may be 
harassed, the remedy is, a diligent study of God's word and works, 
a careful marking of his hand in Providence, and a prayerful and 
confiding acknowledgment of him in all our ways. If we habitu- 
ally walk with God, we shall not doubt his existence. 

The invisibility of God is one of the obstacles to the exercise of 
a lively faith in his existence. It may assist in removing this ob- 
stacle, to reflect that the human mind is also invisible ; and yet we 
never doubt that it exists. We hear the words, and see the actions 
of a fellow-man, and these indicate to us the character and state of 

1 Ps. xix. 1, 2. . 2 Rom. i. 20. 3 Job xii. 7. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 55 

his mind, so as to excite in us admiration or contempt, love or 
hatred. If, while we listen to his words, and observe his actions, 
we clearly perceive the intelligence from which these words and 
actions proceed, why can we frot, with equal clearness, perceive the 
intelligence from which the movements of nature proceed ? If we 
can know, admire, and love, an unseen human mind, it is equally 
possible to know, admire, and love an unseen God. 



CHAPTER II. 

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 



As we acquire knowledge of other beings, and of the relations 
which they hold to us, opportunity is given for the development of 
our moral principles, and the exercise of our moral feelings. It 
accords with the dictates of individual conscience, with the moral 
judgments common to mankind, and with the teachings of God's 
word, that the feelings which we exercise, and the' actions which 
we perform towards others, should have regard to their characters 
and their relations to us. To understand our duty towards God, 
we must know his character. It is not enough to believe that he 
exists, but we should labour to acquire a knowledge of him. Let 
us, then, reverently inquire, Who is the Lord ? 

Section I. — UNITY. 

There is but one God. 1 

The heathen nations have worshipped many gods ; but the in- 
spired volume throughout inculcates the doctrine, that there is but 
one God. Moses said, "Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one 
Lord;" 2 and, in the New Testament, the same truth is taught: 
"There is one God, and one Mediator ;" 3 " To us there is but one 
God." 4 

1 Deut. vi. 4 ; Ps. lxxxvi. 10 ; Mark xii. 29, 32 ; John xvii. 3 ; Gal. iii. 20 ; 
Eph. iv. 6 ; 1 Tim. ii. 5 ; James ii. 19. 
9 Deut. vi. 4. 3 1 Tim. ii. 5. 4 1 Cor. viii. 6. 



56 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

It is not clear that the unity of God can be proved by natural 
religion. In some of the reasonings which have been relied on, 
the thing to be proved is assumed. The most satisfactory argu- 
ment is derived from the uniformity of counsel, which appears in 
the works of creation and providence. The same laws of Nature 
prevail everywhere ; so that, in passing from one region to another, 
we never feel that we have entered the dominion of another Lord. 
Light which emanates from the remote fixed stars, possesses the 
same properties, and obeys the same laws, as that which comes 
from the sun of our own system. 

The proof from revelation is clear and decisive. It is true, that 
plural names of the deity are frequently used in the Old Testament ; 
but it is manifest that they were not designed to teach the doctrine 
of polytheism. In Deut. vi. 4, the word "God" is plural, in the 
original Hebrew ; but the whole passage contains the most une- 
quivocal declaration of the unity of God. In Gen. i. 1, the name 
"God" is plural, but the verb "created" is singular, and therefore 
bars out all inference in favour of polytheism. In several pas- 
sages, plural pronouns are used when God speaks of himself. 
" Let us make man ;" l " Let us go down ;" 2 " The man is become 
as one of us;" 3 these passages, and especially the last of them, 
cannot well be reconciled with the doctrine of God's unity, so 
abundantly taught elsewhere, without supposing a reference to the 
doctrine of the trinity, which will be considered hereafter. 

The unity of God renders his moral government one, uniting the 
subjects of it into one great empire. It leaves us in no doubt to 
whom our allegiance is due ; and it fixes one centre in the universe 
to which the affections of all hearts should be directed. It tends 
to unite the people of God: as we have "one God,", so we have 
"one body, and one spirit." 4 

Section II. — SPIRITUALITY. 

God is a Spirit. 5 

By our external senses we obtain knowledge of properties 
which belong to a class of substances called matter; such as 
extension, solidity or impenetrability, divisibility, figure, color. 

1 Gen. i. 26. 2 Gen. xi. 7. 3 Gen. iii. 22. 

4 Eph. iv. 4, 6. 6 John iv. 24 ; Is. xxxi. 3 ; Heb. xii. 9. 



ATTEIBUTES OF GOD. 57 

By consciousness, we have knowledge of our own thoughts and 
feelings ; and these we ascribe to a substance, called mind, 
which is capable of perceiving, remembering, comparing, judging, 
reasoning, and willing. The distinction between these two classes 
of substances is recognised in the judgments of all men. We never 
attribute thought to fire, air, earth, or water ; and we never con- 
ceive of mind as round or square, black or white. The properties 
which we discover in our own minds, we attribute to the minds of 
others ; and we readily conceive the existence of these properties 
in beings of a different order. The term spirit is used to denote 
an immaterial and intelligent substance, or being; one which is 
without the peculiar properties of matter, and possesses properties 
analogous to those of the human mind. In this sense, God is a 
spirit. He is not extended, solid, and divisible, like a rock, a tree, 
or a human body ; but thinks and wills, in a manner free from all 
imperfection. 

The .texts of Scripture which directly teach the spirituality of 
God, are few. It may be inferred from Isaiah xxxi. 3 : " The 
Egyptians are men, and not God ; and their horses flesh, and not 
spirit." The foundation of the parallelism, in this passage, is that 
God is a spirit. It may be inferred, also, from the language of 
Scripture, in which God is called the Father of spirits : " We have 
had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them 
reverence ; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father 
of spirits, and live?" 1 A father and his children possess a com- 
mon nature, and, as the fathers of our flesh, are flesh, so, the 
Father of our spirits, is spirit. There is one passage which teaches 
the doctrine expressly, " God is a spirit ;" 2 and this would be suffi- 
cient to prove it, if it were taught nowhere else. 

It is no objection to the doctrine of God's spirituality, that 
bodily parts, as hands, feet, eyes, &c, are ascribed to him. These 
are manifestly mere accommodations of language, because we have 
no words more suitable to express the operations of the divine 
mind. If it were inadmissible to speak of God's eyes, because he 
lias not material organs of vision, as we have, it would also be in- 
admissible to speak of God's seeing, because he does not see by 
means of material light, as we do ; or to speak of God's thinking, 
because his thoughts are not as our thoughts. 

1 Heb. xii. 9. 2 John iv. 24. 



58 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

The practical use of this doctrine is taught by Christ : " God is 
a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and 
in truth." 1 In offering him homage, it is not sufficient to come 
before him with a bended knee, or a prostrate body ; but our minds, 
our spiritual nature, must render the homage, or it will be unac- 
ceptable to him. 

The spirituality of God is the foundation of the second com- 
mandment in the decalogue : " Thou shalt not make unto thee any 
graven image, or the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, 
or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the 
earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." 2 
The reason assigned for this commandment is, that the Israelites 
saw no form when God manifested his presence to them at Mount 
Sinai. 3 He appeared to them in cloud and fire. A pillar of cloud 
and fire went before the Israelites in their journey through the 
wilderness, as a token of the divine presence. This token appeared 
at the tabernacle ; and afterwards in the temple built and dedicated 
by Solomon. God appeared to Moses in a burning bush. We are 
not to understand from these things, that God is either cloud or 
fire. These are material, and not spiritual substances. As what 
is purely spiritual cannot be perceived by our bodily senses, God 
was pleased to employ these material symbols to give a sensible 
demonstration of his presence. For the same reason, he sometimes 
presented himself in human form. In all these material manifest- 
ations of himself, which are recorded in the Old Testament, there 
is reason to believe that it was the second person in the Godhead, 
who thus exhibited himself; the same that afterwards appeared in 
human flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ. He is called the Angel 
of the Lord, the Angel of the Lord's presence, and yet he is called 
Jehovah ; and the reverence due to Jehovah is claimed for him. A 
created angel is not entitled to this name, or this honour ; but they 
both belong to the Son of God, the Angel of the Covenant, who, 
after his incarnation, was God manifest in the flesh. This opinion 
is confirmed by the teachings of the New Testament: "No man 
hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, which is in the 
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." 4 Of the Father, 
Jesus says, " Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen 

» John iv. 24. * Ex. xx. 4, 5. 3 Deut. iv. 12-18. 4 John i. 18. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 59 

his shape j" 1 and he said to his disciples, " He that hath seen me, 
hath seen the Father." 2 A comparison of these passages may 
satisfy us, that all the manifestations of the deity to human senses, 
whether visible or audible, were made in the person of the Son, or 
Word of God. 

The spirituality of God contradicts the pantheistic notion that 
the universe is God. The universe is not spirit. In its material 
fabric, intelligence is displayed ; but this intelligence does not belong 
to the material fabric itself, for matter cannot think or know. To 
present our religious devotions to the universe, is an idolatry not 
less degrading than that of the most stupid of the heathen nations. 
They worship stocks and stones ; but this philosophy clothes every 
clod of earth with divinity, and entitles it to our worship. The 
heathen render divine honors to a few men, whom, for extraordinary 
merit, they enroll among the gods ; but this notion directs our wor- 
ship to every man, and to every beast of the field. It is a notion 
perfectly adapted to crush the outflowings of the devotional heart, 
as they rise to the one, indivisible, spiritual intelligence, to whom 
alone divine worship is due. 

The notion, that God is the Soul of the universe, may not be 
liable to precisely the same objection. But what does the propo- 
sition mean ? The only sense in which we can possibly understand 
that God is the Soul of the universe, is, that he sustains a relation 
to the universe analogous to that which the human soul sustains to 
the body with which it is connected. But how extensive is this 
analogy ? The soul did not create the matter of which the body is 
made ; did not form the skilfully wrought parts of the wonderful 
machinery, or contrive their mysterious movements, which it studies 
with admiration, and comprehends only in very small part. The 
soul exercises but a very limited control over the body. The mus- 
cles of voluntary motion are under its command, and move at its 
will ; and, in this fact, we may discover a faint analogy to the 
operation of Him, who worketh all things after the counsel of His 
will, and in whom every creature lives, moves, and has its being. 
An analogy so meager as this is not sufficient to justify the meta- 
phorical language in which the proposition is stated. Yet, while 
we reject the proposition, we may derive from it a profitable sug- 

1 John v. 37. 2 John xiv. 9. 



60 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

gestion. In our intercourse with the myriads of mankind, we per- 
ceive and acknowledge, in the movements of every human limb, in 
the changes of every human countenance, and in the words which 
fall from every human tongue, the power and intelligence of an 
operating human soul. Equally obvious, and infinitely more extent 
sive, is the control which God exercises, at every moment, over 
every part of the universe. With a proper view of God's spiritu- 
ality, and of his operative control over the world and everything 
in it, our minds would hold intercourse with his mind, as direct and 
undoubted as that which we hold with the minds of our fellow-men, 
and one more constant, and more elevating and delightful. 

Section III. — IMME N SI T Y, OMNIPRESENCE. 

God is Everywhere. 1 

Every material thing in the universe is somewhere. The sun 
has its place ; the earth also, and every grain of sand, and every 
drop of water. The drops of water may change their place per- 
petually, but every drop has, for each moment, its own place, to 
the exclusion of all other matter in the universe. 

In our conceptions of the human mind we assign place to it 
also, though in a different manner. We do not attribute to it 
length, breadth, and thickness, as to a block of marble, which can 
be measured by feet and inches ; but we conceive of it as present 
in the human body, with which it is connected, and absent from 
another, with which it is not connected. Each mind is operated 
on by impressions made on the organs of sense which belong to its 
own body ; and operates by its volitions on the muscles of motion 
which belong to that body. In this view, we conceive of each 
mind as present in its own body, and not elsewhere ; and we con- 
ceive of changing the place of the mind, while its connection with 
the body continues, only by a change in the place of the body. 

When we conceive of finite spiritual beings as angels, we assign 
to each some place ; because his operation, though not confined 
like that of the human mind, to a particular material body, is 
nevertheless limited. Such conception accords with the teaching 
of Scripture, in which angels are represented as moving from place 
to place, to execute the will of their Sovereign. So the angei 

1 1 Kings viii. 27 ; Ps. cxxxix. 7 ; Jer. xxiii. 23. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 61 

came to Daniel, 1 and to Peter ; 2 and so one is represented as fly- 
ing through the midst of heaven. 3 

We must not conceive of God's omnipresence as if it were ma- 
terial. We say that the atmosphere is present at every part of the 
earth's surface ; but this is not strictly true. It is not the whole, 
but merely a small part of the atmosphere, which is present at 
each place; God is indivisible. We cannot say, that a part of his 
essence is here, and a part yonder. If this were the mode of God's 
omnipresence in universal space, he would be infinitely divided, 
and only an infinitely small part of him would be present at each 
place. It would not be the whole deity, that takes cognizance of 
our actions, and listens to our petitions. This notion is unfavor- 
able to piety, and opposed to the true sense of Scripture : " The 
eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the 
good." 4 "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his 
ears are open unto their prayers." 5 

There are passages of Scripture which speak of God's removing 
from one place to another ; of his approaching and departing ; of 
his dwelling in heaven, and of his coming near to his people, and 
taking up his abode with them. These are manifestly accommoda- 
tions of language ; just as when eyes or hands are attributed to 
him. They refer to the manifestations of his presence in his 
various works, and dispensations, in which such changes take place, 
as are appropriately and impressively expressed by this language. 

When we deny a material omnipresence of God, as if his essence 
were divided and diffused ; and when we maintain that the whole deity 
is everywhere present by his energy and operation, it is not to be 
understood that we deny the essential omnipresence of God. In 
whatever manner his essence is present anywhere, it is present 
everywhere. What the mode of that presence is, we know not. 
We know not the essence of the human mind, nor the mode of its 
presence in the body ; much less can we comprehend the essence 
of the infinite God, or the mode of his omnipresence. To that in- 
comprehensible property of his nature, by which he is capable of 
being wholly present at the same moment, with every one of his 
creatures, without division of his essence, and without removal from 



1 Dan. ix. 23. • 2 Acts xii. 7. ' 3 Rev. xiv. 6. 

4 Prov. xv. 3. 6 1 Pet. iii. 12. 



62 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

place to place, the name immensity has been given. The essence 
of God is immense or unmeasured, because it is unmeasurable. It 
is unmeasurable, because it is spiritual, and, therefore, without such 
dimensions as may be measured by feet and inches ; and because, 
in whatever sense dimensions may be ascribed to it, these dimen- 
sions are boundless. Time has a dimension not to be measured by 
feet and inches : and we may say of time, that it is omnipresent. 
The same moment exists in Europe and America, at Saturn, and 
at the centre of the earth. The omnipresence of time does not 
explain the omnipresence of God, but it may help us to admit the 
possibility of omnipresence without division of essence, or removal 
of place. But the omnipresence of time is not immensity; for 
time has its measure, and a moment is not eternity. 

It is not derogatory to the dignity and glory of God, that he is 
present everywhere. There are foul places where human beings 
would prefer not to be ; but they do not affect the Deity as they 
affect men. The sun-beams fall on them without being polluted ; 
and the holy God cannot be contaminated by them. There are 
scenes of wickedness, from which a good man will turn away with 
abhorrence, and, in the figurative language of Scripture, God is 
" of purer eyes than to behold evil:" 1 yet, in another place of 
scripture, language no less figurative teaches us that the eyes of 
God behold the evil as well as the good. 2 He witnesses, while he 
abhors. 

A man who sincerely believes the omnipresence of God, cannot 
be indifferent to religion. To realize that the moral Governor of 
the universe is ever near, in all his holiness and power, and as 
much present as if he were nowhere else, must awaken solicitude. 
When a sense of guilt oppresses, the presence of such a companion 
becomes intolerable. The guilty man strives to flee from the pres- 
ence of God, as Jonah did ; but the doctrine of God's omnipres- 
ence teaches him that the attempt is unavailing. The power 
of conscience tormenting the guilty man, wherever he goes, is ter- 
rible ; but the presence of the God against whom he has sinned, 
and whose wrath he dreads, is still more terrible. To the soul, 
reconciled to God, the doctrine is full of consolation. In every 
place, in every condition, to have with us an almighty friend, a 



»Hab. i. 13. 2 Prov. xv. 3. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 63 

kind father, is a source of unspeakable comfort and joy. We need 
not fear, though we pass through fire or flood, if God be with us. 
Even in the valley of the shadow of death, we may fear no evil. In 
every circumstance and trial, it conduces to holiness, to know that 
God is present. 

Section IV.— ETERNITY AND IMMUTABILITY. 

God is Eternal. 1 

In our knowledge of the objects which surround us, we include 
not only their present state, but their continued existence, and the 
changes which they undergo. Some things pass before our eyes, 
as visions of the moment ; others, as the rocks, the sun, the stars, 
outlast many generations of men. Few living creatures remain in 
life as long as man ; but the shortness of his life is a subject of 
daily remark, and of impressive scriptural representation. 2 The 
duration of the deity is exhibited in contrast thus : " Lord, make 
me know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is ; that I 
may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as a 
handbreadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee." 3 A 
thousand years, include many of the ordinary generations of man- 
kind ; yet, in comparison with God's duration, they are said to be 
" as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night." 4 To- 
morrow, while future, may appear to our view, as a duration of 
considerable length ; but yesterday, when it is past, how short it 
is ! An hour of the day, filled with a great variety of incidents, 
which it might require many hours to narrate, is lengthened out in 
our view; but how short, how contracted is a watch of the night, 
in which we sleep and awake, and know not that time has passed ! 
Such, to the view of God, is the long period of a thousand years. 
To heighten our conception of God's eternity, it is contrasted with 
the duration of those natural things which appear to possess the 
greatest stability : " Thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the 
foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy 
hands ; they shall perish, but thou remainest ; and they all shall 
wax old as doth a garment : and as a vesture shalt thou fold them 
up, and they shall be changed ; but thou art the same, and thy 

*Deut. xxxii. 40; xxxiii. 27; Ps. ix. 7; xe. 2; cii. 27; cxlvi. 10; Isaiah 
lvii. 15; lxiii. 16 ; Jer. x. 10; Lam. v. 19; 1 Tim. i. 17. 
2 1 Chron. xxix. 15 ; Job vii. 6; Job ix. 25, 26. 3 Ps. xxxix. 4, 5. 4 Ps. xc. 4. 



64 DOCTBINE CONCERNING GOD. 

years shall not fail." 1 But when we have enlarged our concep- 
tions to the utmost, they still utterly fail to comprehend the vast 
subject. We stretch our thoughts backward and forward ; but no 
beginning or end of God's existence appears. To relieve our over- 
stretched imagination, and to stop the unavailing effort to compre- 
hend what is incomprehensible, we bring in the negative idea — no 
beginning, no end. Duration without beginning and without end, 
becomes the expression of God's eternity. 

That every thing, except God, had a beginning, is a doctrine of 
revelation: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the 
earth. 2 This doctrine, philosophy cannot contradict, and perhaps 
cannot fully demonstrate. But there are manifestations of design, 
even in unorganized matter, in the kinds and quantities that exist, 
and the uses to which they are adapted. If matter is eternal, or 
a production of chance, why is it not all of one kind ; and why 
are the kinds of it, and the proportionate quantities of each, so 
apparently the result of design? Revelation answers this by the 
declaration, " In wisdom thou hast made them all. 3 

In contemplating God as the First Cause, we consider his exist- 
ence uncaused. As we look back through duration past, till we 
find one existence that is without beginning, so we look back 
through the long chain of effect and cause, till we have found one 
existence that is without cause. Sometimes, however, the concep- 
tion is clothed in language that has not merely negative import. 
Not satisfied with the merely negative idea, without cause, learned 
men labor to assign a cause for God's existence, and represent it 
as the cause of itself, or as including its cause within itself. They 
express this, by saying, that God is self-existent. This mode of 
expression accommodates our tendency to philosophize ; but it per- 
haps conveys no other intelligible idea, than that God's existence 
is without cause. 

Another philosophical expression, God necessarily exists, seems 
to possess some deep meaning ; but when we labor to explore its 
depths, we shall, perhaps, find in it no. other intelligible idea, than 
that God exists, and has always existed. His existence has 
always rendered his non-existence impossible, because it is impos- 
sible for anything to be, and not to be, at the same time. If philo- 



» Heb. i. 10, 11, 12. 2 Gen. i. 1. 3 Ps. civ. 24. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 65 

sophy goes behind the existence of God, in search of a cause 
necessitating his being, she wanders out of her proper province. 
We may permit her to trace the relation of cause and effect, as far 
as that relation is to be found ; but when she has arrived at the 
uncaused existence of the eternal One, we should say to her, thus 
far shalt thou go, and no further. 

The eternity of God has been defined, existence without begin- 
ning, without end, and without succession. Time with us, is past, 
present, and future ; but God's existence is believed to be a per- 
petual now. The subject is beyond our comprehension ; but it is 
most reasonable to conclude, that God's mode of existence differs 
from ours, as it respects time, as well as space ; and that, as he ex- 
ists equally at every point of space, without division of his im- 
mensity, so he equally exists at every moment of time, without 
division of his eternity. Possibly this may be intimated in the 
Scripture phrase, "inhabiteth eternity." 1 We dwell in time, 
a habitation with its various apartments ; and we pass from one 
to another in order ; but God's habitation is undivided eternity. 
Our lifetime has its parts, childhood, boyhood, manhood, and old 
age ; but God's life is as indivisible as his essence. 

God is Unchangeable. 2 

The doctrine of God's eternity, and that of his unchangeableness, 
are nearly allied to each other ; and if his eternity excludes suc- 
cession, it must also exclude the possibility of change. Unchange- 
ableness applies not only to his essence, but also to his attributes. 
His spirituality is ever the same, his omnipresence the same, and 
so of the rest. His purpose, also, is unchangeable ; it is called 
"his eternal purpose." 3 He says: "My counsel shall stand." 4 
He is said, in Scripture, to repent; but, in the same chapter 5 in 
which it is twice said that God repented, it is also stated : " He is 
not a man, that he should repent." We cannot suppose that the 
sacred writer intended to contradict himself palpably in the com- 
pass of a few verses. In accommodation to our modes of speaking, 
God is said to repent when he effects such a change in his work as 
would, in human actions, proceed from repentance. Repentance, 
in men, implies grief of mind, and change of work. The former is 

1 Is. Ivii. 15. 

2 Num. xxiii. 19 ; Ps. cii. 27; Mai. iii. 6 ; Heb. i. 12 ; xiii. 8 ; Jas. i. 17. 

3 Eph. iii. 11. 4 Is. xlvi. 10. 5 1 Sam. xv. 

5 



66 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

inconsistent with the perfection of God, but the latter is not. To 
destroy the world by the deluge, no more implied a change in God 
than to create it at first. Each act effected a great change, but in 
both God remained unchanged. No other language could so im- 
pressively represent God's abhorrence of man's wickedness to be 
the cause of the deluge, as that used by the sacred historian : "It 
repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it 
grieved him at his heart." 1 

When we contemplate the shortness of human life, and the in- 
cessant change of everything with which we have to do on earth, 
and of ourselves, as we pass from the cradle to the grave, we may 
well exclaim, as we look up to the eternal and unchangeable God, 
"Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him." A sense of 
our comparative nothingness is eminently conducive to humility. 
A view of God's eternity and unchangeableness is necessary to the 
due exercise of confidence in him. It is folly to trust in uncertain 
riches, and in the things which perish in the using of them ; but 
we wisely put our trust in the living God. The men with whom 
we converse are passing away ; the condition of life is perpetually 
changing ; we are, in all our relations to earthly things, as if we 
were on the surface of a restless ocean ; but God is as a rock amidst 
the fluctuating waters ; and, while we repose unshaken confidence 
in him, our feet stand firmly, and we can look without dismay on 
the troubled scene around us. Men of age receive our reverence, 
and the counsels of their long experience are highly prized. Who 
will not reverence the Ancient of Days, the eternal God ; and who 
will reject the counsel of Him, "whose goings forth have been 
from of old, from everlasting"? 2 

The immutability of God has been made a pretext for restraining 
prayer before him ; but this is wrong. Even if the giving or with- 
holding of the blessings desired were unaffected by the prayer, 
there still remains sufficient reason for perseverance in offering the 
petition. The devotional feeling is acceptable to God, and profit- 
able to the soul. If prayer will not bring God to the soul, it will, 
at least, bring the soul to God. A man in a boat, on a dangerous 
water, may be saved by means of a rope thrown to him from the 
shore. When he pulls, though the rock to which the other end of 



1 Gen. vi. 6. 8 Micah v. 2. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 67 

the rope may be fastened does not come to the boat, the boat comes 
to the rock. So prayer brings the soul to God. 

But it is not true, that the giving or withholding of the blessing 
desired is unaffected by the petition presented. Though God is 
unchangeable, his operation changes in its effect on his creatures, 
according to their changing character and circumstances. The 
same sun hardens clay and softens wax. Adam was in God's favor 
before he sinned ; but afterwards was under his displeasure. When 
a man becomes converted, he is removed from under the wrath of 
God into a state of favor with him, and all things now work toge- 
ther for his good. In all this, God changes not. God has, in 
time past, bestowed blessings in answer to prayer, and his un- 
changeableness encourages the hope that he will do so in time to 
come. His whole plan has been so arranged, in his infinite wisdom, 
that many of his blessings are bestowed only in answer to prayer. 
The connection between the prayer and the bestowment of the 
blessing, is as fixed by the divine appointment as that between cause 
and effect in natural things. The unchangeableness of God, there- 
fore, instead of being a reason for restraining prayer, renders 
prayer indispensable ; for our weak petitions have their effect with 
God, according to his immutable purpose ; and, to deny the possi- 
bility of this, would be to deny the efficacy of Christ's intercession. 

Section V. — OMNI SCIENCE. 

God knows all things. 1 

In their stupidity, men have worshipped gods of wood and stone, 
which, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not ; but the 
deity that the Bible makes known, is a God of knowledge. 2 Even 
natural religion teaches that the maker and governor of the world 
must possess intelligence ; and the degrading idolatry which wor- 
shipped birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things, was contrary 
to reason, as well as to revelation. 

The mode of God's knowledge we cannot comprehend. Scrip- 
ture and reason unite in teaching that his thoughts are not as our 
thoughts. We derive our best conception of his knowledge from 
our own mental operations ; but we ought to be careful not to think 

1 Job xxxvii. 16; Ps. cxlvii. 5 ; Is. xlii. 9 ; xlvi. 9, 10 ; Acts i. 24; Horn, xl 
33 ; Heb. iv. 13; 1 John iii. 20. * 1 Sam. ii. 3. 



68 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

of him as altogether such an one as ourselves. As lie differs from 
all creatures, in mode of presence and of duration, so he differs, in 
mode of knowledge, from all other intelligent beings. 

God does not acquire knowledge after our mode. We acquire 
knowledge of external objects by means of our bodily senses ; but 
God has no body, and no organs of sense like ours. We learn the 
less obvious relations of things by processes of reasoning, which are 
often tedious and laborious, but God has no labor to acquire 
knowledge, and suffers no delay in attaining it. All things are 
naked, and open to his eyes. 1 We learn much by the testimony 
of others ; but God is not dependent for knowledge on information 
received from any of his creatures. We obtain knowledge of our 
own mental operations by means of consciousness ; and, as this is 
without any process of reasoning, and not by our bodily senses, 
or the testimony of others, it may give us the best possible concep- 
tion of God's mode of knowledge. All things which he knows are 
before his mind as immediately and completely as the states and 
operations of our minds are before our consciousness ; but our best 
conceptions fall infinitely short of the incomprehensible subject. 
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his thoughts higher 
than our thoughts. 2 

God does not hold his knowledge in possession, after our mode. 
The great store-house of our knowledge is memory, a wonderful 
faculty, with which the human mind is endowed. Without it, all 
knowledge would pass from the mind, as the image passes from a 
mirror, when the object producing it has gone by. But if God's 
duration is without succession, there is, with him, no past to re- 
member; and therefore memory, with him, is something wholly 
different from what it is with us. His whole mode of life differs so 
widely from ours, that we cannot attribute human faculties to him, 
without degrading his divinity. 

In our study of God's attributes, it is important to remember, 
at every step of our progress, that they are all incomprehensible 
to us. We should do this, not only for the sake of humility, but 
to guard us against erroneous inferences, which we are liable to 
draw from our imperfect conceptions of the divine nature. It is 
instructive to notice how far the elements of these conceptions are 

1 Heb. iv. 13. 2 Is. lv. 9. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 69 

derived from what we know of our own minds. No combination 
of such elements can possibly give us adequate conceptions of the 
eternal and infinite Mind. Even the Holy Scriptures, which reveal 
God to us, do not supply the elementary conceptions necessary to 
a perfect knowledge of God. They speak to human beings in hu- 
man language, and the knowledge which they impart is sufficient 
for our present necessities, and able to make us wise to salvation ; 
but we should remember, that human language cannot express to 
us what the human mind cannot conceive, and, therefore, cannot 
convey a full knowledge of the deity. 

Much of human knowledge consists of mere negations. Fre- 
quent exemplifications of this occur in our study of the divine 
attributes. What God's spirituality is, we cannot positively know ; 
but we know that it is not matter. What God's eternity is, we can- 
not comprehend ; but, in our labor to comprehend it, we stretch our 
positive conception of duration to the utmost possible extent, and 
at length seek relief in the negative ideas — without beginning, 
without end, without succession. These negations mark the imper- 
fection of our knowledge. God's knowledge is direct and positive, 
and he seeks no relief in the negations that we find so convenient. 

God does not use his knowledge after our mode. For the proper 
directing of actions, knowledge is necessary, both of things actu- 
ally existing, and of things, the existence of which is merely pos- 
sible. Our minds possess both these kinds of knowledge to a 
limited extent, and use them in an imperfect manner. In the 
study of history and geography we acquire knowledge of things 
which are, or have been, in actual existence. Arithmetic treats of 
number, and geometry of magnitude ; but these sciences do not 
teach- the actual existence of. anything. By reasoning from the 
abstract relations and properties of things, our minds are capable 
of determining what would, or might exist, in supposed cases ; and, 
by this process, our knowledge extends into the department of things 
possible. This knowledge is necessary to choice ; and, therefore, 
to voluntary action. If but one thing were possible, there would 
be no room for choice; and we must know the things possible, 
before we can choose. God has perfect knowledge of things pos- 
sible, and these depend on his power. He has, also, perfect know- 
ledge of things actual, and these depend on his will. He knew 
how many worlds he could create, and how many kinds of plants 



70 DOCTRINE CONCERNING: GOD. 

and animals ; and out of these he chose what worlds, plants, and 
animals, should exist. According to our mode of conception, the 
knowledge of things possible precedes the will or purpose of God, 
and the knowledge of things actual follows it. But we dare not 
affirm that there is any succession of thought in the divine mind. 
How God uses his knowledge, in counsel, or in action, we cannot 
comprehend. 

The extent of God's knowledge is unlimited. He knows all 
things ; all things possible, and all things actual. He knows him- 
self perfectly, though unknown by any other being. The attri- 
butes which we labor in vain to comprehend, he understands fully. 
His ways, to us unsearchable, are fully known to him from the 
beginning of. his works. All creatures are known to him, and 
everything that appertains to them : the angels of heaven, the men 
who inhabit the earth, and every living thing, even to the sparrow, 
or young ravens, he knows, and carefully regards. The thoughts 
of the mind he understands, and the secrets of every heart he fully 
searches. 

All events, past, present, or future, are known to God. Past 
events are said to be remembered by him ; and he claims the fore- 
knowledge of future events, challenging false gods to a comparison 
with him in this respect. 1 His foreknowledge of future events is 
proved by the numerous predictions contained in the Bible, that 
have proceeded from him. It was given to the Israelites, 2 as a rule 
for distinguishing a true prophet of the Lord, that his predictions 
should be fulfilled ; but a foreknowledge of future events could not 
be imparted to them from the Lord, if the Lord himself did not 
possess it. 

The mode of God's foreknowledge we cannot comprehend. He 
sees present things not as man sees, and remembers the past not in 
he manner of human memory. It is, therefore, not surprising 
that we cannot comprehend the mode of his knowledge ; and espe- 
cially of his foreknowledge^ in which we, least of all, resemble him. 
We have some knowledge of the present and the past ; but of the 
future we have no absolute knowledge. We know causes at present 
existing, from which we infer that future events will take place ; . 
but an absolute foreknowledge of these future events we do not 

1 Is. xli. 22. 2 Deut. xviii. 22. 



ATTRIBUTES OE GOD. 71 

possess. Some cause, of which we are now not aware, may inter- 
vene, and disappoint our expectation. The phenomena of nature, 
which we expect with the greatest confidence, such as the rising of 
the sun, the occurrence of an eclipse, are foreknown only on the 
condition that the present laws of nature shall continue to operate, 
without change or suspension. But the Author of Nature may 
interpose, and change the present order of things. On the suppo- 
sition that God has a perfect knowledge of all the causes now ope- 
rating ; that there are fixed laws which determine the succession of 
events ; and that God perfectly understands these laws ; we may 
comprehend that God can infallibly predict things to come. No 
being but himself can interfere with the order of things which he 
has established. This mode of foreknowledge we can, in some 
measure, conceive ; but the supposition which it involves, that all 
events take place according to an established order of sequence, 
many are unwilling to admit. They maintain that events depend- 
ent on the volitions of free agents, do not so occur ; and, therefore, 
cannot be foreknown after this manner. 

Some, who adopt the view last mentioned, deny that God fore- 
knows future events, dependent on human volitions. They never- 
theless attribute omniscience to him, and understand it to be the 
'power of knowing all tilings. They say that, as omnipotence sig- 
nifies a power to do all things, without the doing of them, so 
omniscience signifies the power to know all things, without the 
knowing of them. There is clearly a mistake here in language. 
As omnipotence signifies all power, so omniscience signifies all 
knowledge ; and God does not possess omniscience, if he possesses 
merely the power to know, without the knowledge itself. But it 
may be questioned, whether, according to the theory, God has even 
the power to know. The pow T er of God might have excluded such 
contingencies from existence ; but, after having opened the door, it 
is difficult to understand how any power could foreknow, what things 
will enter, if they are in their nature unforeknowabte. But the 
strongest possible objection lies against the theory, in that it is 
opposed to fact. God has predicted very many events dependent 
on innumerable volitions of free agents, and, therefore, must have 
foreknown them. Those who have advocated this theory, in con- 
nection with the opinion, that the duration of God is an eternal 
now, and that there is strictly speaking, neither foreknowledge nor 



72 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

after-knowledge with him ; fix narrow limits to the divine omni- 
science. If God's knowledge is unchangeable, and if he has no 
foreknowledge of contingencies, he can have no after-knowledge 
of them. But the whole history of mankind is dependent on con- 
tingencies ; being filled with them, and events depending on them. 
All this must be a blank to the view of God. Men may know this 
history, and it may be written out in ten thousand volumes ; but 
God knows it not, for, though he possesses the power to know, he has 
determined not to exercise it. How then shall God judge the world ? 

Human beings have two modes of knowing past events ; one, by 
memory ; the other, by inferring their existence from the effects 
which have followed. One man remembers that a house was burned 
down, having seen the flames of its combustion ; another knows 
that it was burned down, because he sees its ashes. In one mode, 
memory runs back along the line of time ; in the other, reason 
runs back along the line of cause and effect. The only mode which 
we have of knowing future events, is by the reasoning process. 
Whether God has a method, analogous rather to our memory or 
perception, than to our reason ; it is impossible for us to determine. 
If he has, we cannot conceive of it, because there is nothing like 
it in ourselves ; but the absence of such a power in us, by no 
means proves its non-existence in God. Some have imagined that 
God looks down the vista of time, and sees future events, as we see a 
traveller approaching when he is yet at a distance from us. But 
the cases are not analogous. We see the traveller coming, not 
having come; what is present, as to time, and not what is future. 
His arrival, the future event, we know only by a process of rea- 
soning. The supposition is, that God has an immediate perception 
of the future event, without any intervening process of reasoning. 
To say that he sees it, expresses this figuratively, but does not ex- 
plain it. 

The doctrine that there is no succession in the eternity of God, 
neither denies nor explains his foreknowledge. 1. It does not 
deny. Some have maintained that there is, strictly speaking, neither 
foreknowledge nor after-knowledge with God ; and this may be 
admitted, if foreknowledge necessarily implies succession of thought. 
But the foreknowledge which we attribute to God, is not knowledge 
antecedent to something else in the divine mind, but knowledge 
antecedent to the event foreknown. From God's knowledge pre- 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 73 

dictions of future events have proceeded. Such knowledge, in a 
human mind, would be foreknowledge ; and, in human language, 
this is its proper name. 2. It does not explain. The doctrine 
teaches that all times and events, past, present, and future, are alike 
present to God. The overthrow of Babylon by Cyrus, and the 
prediction thereof by Isaiah, are both historical events ; and, as 
such, are supposed to have been alike present to the mind of God 
from the beginning of the world. Now, the fact that the over- 
throw was present to the mind of God, could not be the cause of 
the revelation made to the prophet, and of the prediction which 
followed ; for, according to the doctrine, the prediction was already 
as much present to the mind of God as the event predicted ; and, 
therefore, its existence must be as much presupposed in the order 
of cause and effect. Hence, to account for this, or any other predic- 
tion, we are compelled to admit that God has a mode of foreknow- 
ledge, into the nature of which the doctrine of the perpetual now 
gives us no insight. 

But why should we indulge ourselves in vain speculations, or ex- 
haust ourselves with needless efforts ? We are like children who 
wade into the ocean, to learn its depth by the measure of their 
little stature, and who exclaim, almost at their first step, ! how 
deep ! Even Paul, when laboring to fathom this subject, exclaimed, 
" the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past find- 
ing out I" 1 

In comparison with God's infinite intelligence, how little is all 
human knowledge ! We honor Newton, and other giants of intel- 
lect that have appeared in the progress of our race ; but their 
highest glory was, to know a very little of God's ways. Let every 
power of our minds bend before his infinite understanding, with 
deep humility and devout adoration. We study our own minds, 
and find in them much that we cannot explain ; and when we use 
the little knowledge of them to which we can attain, in our labored 
efforts to understand something of God, an important part of its 
use consists in convincing us that we cannot find out God, and 
that his thoughts are not as our thoughts. 

As intelligent beings, we may contemplate the omniscience of 

•Eom. xi. 33. 



74 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

God with devout admiration ; and as guilty beings, we should fear 
and tremble before it. He sees the inmost recesses of the heart. 
The hateful thoughts which we are unwilling a fellow- worm should 
know, are all known to him, and every thought, word, and deed, 
he remembers, and will bring into judgment. How terrible is this 
attribute of the Great Judge, who will expose the secrets of every 
heart, and reward every man according to his works, though un- 
observed or forgotten by men ! 

But with all the awe which invests it, this attribute of the Divine 
Nature, is delightful to the pious man. He rejoices to say, Thou, 
God, seest me. He prays, Try me, and see if there be any wicked 
way in me, and lead me into the way everlasting. Gladly he com- 
mits himself to the guidance of him who has all knowledge. Con- 
scious of his own blindness and darkness, he knows not which way 
to take, or what is best for him ; but he puts himself, with un- 
wavering confidence, into the hands of the omniscient God. 

Section VI. — OMNIPOTE NC E. 

God is able to do whatever he pleases. 1 

Our first idea of power, is probably derived from the control 
which we possess over our muscles, and the use which we make of 
them, to produce effects on things about us. Our limbs and voice 
become the instruments of our power ; and, in the using of them 
for effecting our purpose, the notion of power arises. We transfer 
this notion, and incorporate it into the conception which we form 
of other intelligent beings like ourselves ; and it thus becomes an 
element in our conception of the deity. In the material world, 
causes are followed by their effects in a manner similar to that in 
which effects are produced by the motion of our limbs ; and the 
material causes are said to have power. It is thus we speak of the 
power of steam, or of an engine. 

We know well that our power is limited. Many things which we 
attempt we fail to accomplish. To conceive of omnipotence, we 
introduce, as in other cases, the negative idea, without fail. This, 
however, does not exclude the idea of attempt, desire, or will. It 
derogates nothing from the omnipotence of God, that he does not 
accomplish what he has no desire or will to accomplish. It is im- 

1 Gen. xvii. 1 ; Job. v. 9 ; Jer. xxxii. 17 ; Matt. xix. 26 ; Kev. i. 8 ; xix. 6. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, 75 

possible for God to lie, or to deny himself ; but these are things 
which he does not please to do, because they are inconsistent with 
his moral perfections. Nor would the doing of these things be any 
indication of supreme power. It is also true, that God cannot do 
things which imply contradiction in themselves ; as, to make a thing 
to be, and not to be, at the same time ; to make a circle to be at 
the same time a square, &c. If finite power fails to accomplish 
such things, it fails not because it is finite, but because the things 
are impossible. No measure of power could come nearer to suc- 
cess. Impotence is as good as omnipotence for accomplishing 
impossibilities. 

We are filled with awe in contemplating the omnipotence of God. 
When we hear the voice of his thunder in the heavens, or feel the 
earth quake under the tread of his foot, how do solemn thoughts 
of things divine fill our minds ! From the rending cloud, and the 
quaking earth, let us look back to the power which brought crea- 
tion into being, and forward to that display of his power which we 
are to witness on the last day. Such a being, who will not fear ? 
Our minds exercise their power through our bodies, to which, there- 
fore, the immediate exercise of it is limited ; and even over these 
the power is confined within narrow limits ; for we cannot add one 
cubit to our stature, or make one hair white or black. But God 
has everything in the universe under his immediate and perfect 
control. He needs no instruments, no mechanical aid, no series 
of contrivances ; but, at his will the thing is done, whether it be the 
production of an animalcule, or the creation of a world. At our 
will, a finger moves ; but at the volition of God, a planet is launched 
in its orbit, with a force of which the cannon-ball gives but a very 
faint conception. Hurricanes, which sweep the earth, and lift up 
the dwellings, and the very bodies of men, in the air, have their 
power. The ocean, which sports with mighty ships, has its power. 
The volcano, which bursts forth with such awful grandeur, has its 
power. But when we have combined the force of air, ocean, and 
subterranean fire, we must multiply it by the number of such 
agencies which are operating, through all the worlds in the whole 
of God's vast empire, before we can begin to conceive adequately 
of his omnipotence. Lo, these are parts of his ways ; but the 
thunder of his power, who can understand ? l 

1 Job xxvi. 14. 



76 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 



Section VII. — GOODNESS. 

God is Infinitely Benevolent. 1 

God's goodness, as exercised towards his creatures, is often ex 
pressed in the Scriptures by the term love. Love is distinguished 
as benevolence, beneficence, or complacence. Benevolence is love in 
intention or disposition ; beneficence is love in action, or conferring 
its benefits ; and complacence is the approbation of good actions or 
dispositions. Goodness, exercised toward the unworthy, is called 
grace; toward the suffering, it is called pity, or mercy. The 
latter term intimates that the suffering, or liability to suffer, arises 
from the just displeasure of God. 

Goodness implies a disposition to produce happiness. We are 
conscious of pleasure and pain in ourselves, and we know that we 
can, to some extent, cause pleasure or pain in others. Continued 
pleasure is happiness ; continued pain, misery. God is able to 
produce happiness or misery, when, and to whatever extent lie 
pleases. Which of these is it the disposition of his infinite nature 
to produce ? 

God's goodness may be argued from the manifestations of it in 
the works of creation. The world is peopled with sentient be- 
ings, capable of pleasure ; and sources of pleasure are everywhere 
provided for them. Every sense of every animal is an inlet of 
pleasure ; and for every sense the means of pleasure are provided. 
What God gives them they gather. His open hand pours enjoy- 
ments into their existence at every moment. When we consider 
the innumerable living creatures that are, at this moment, receiving 
pleasure from the abundant and varied stores which his creating 
power has furnished ; and when we reflect, that this stream of 
bounty has flowed incessantly from the creation of the world, we 
may well consider the fountain from which it has descended as 
infinite. 

It demonstrates the goodness of God, that the pleasures which 
his creatures enjoy do not come incidentally, but are manifestly the 
result of contrivance. Food would nourish without the pleasure 
experienced in eating. We might have been so constituted as to 

1 Ex. xxxiv. 6 ; Ps. ciii. 2-8; Zech. ix. 17 ; Matt. vii. 11 ; Luke ii. 14 ; xii. 32 ; 
Rom. v. 8 : 1 John iv. 8. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 77 

be driven to take it by hunger, and to receive it with pain, but 
little less than that produced by the want of it. But God has 
superadded pleasure where it was not absolutely necessary, and 
has made the very support of animal existence a source of perpetual 
gratification. 

It adds greatly to the force of this argument, that indications 
of malevolent design are not found in the works of God. Pain is, 
indeed, often experienced, but it never appears to result from an 
arrangement specially made for receiving it. There is no organ 
of our body to which we can point, and say, this was specially de- 
signed to give us pain. 

Mere animal enjoyment is not the highest that God bestows. To 
his intelligent creatures he has opened another source in the pur- 
suit and acquisition of knowledge. We need knowledge, as well as 
food ; and we might be driven to seek it by a painful necessity, 
without deriving any pleasure from it. But here, again, the bene- 
volence of the Creator is manifested. Pleasure is superadded when 
we acquire necessary knowledge ; and, when the progress has 
reached the limit of our necessities, the pleasure does not cease. 
The intellectual appetite is never satiated to loathing. 

But God has made us susceptible of far higher and nobler plea- 
sure in the exercise of virtue and religion. To this he has adapted 
our moral nature, rendering us capable both of the exercise and 
the enjoyment. For the exercise of virtue and religion, the con- 
stitution of human society, and the various relations which we sus- 
tain in its organization, furnish abundant occasion ; and in the 
moral sense of mankind, and the approbation which virtue extorts, 
even when the tribute is not spontaneously rendered, a source of 
enjoyment is opened. In the proper exercise of our moral powers, 
we are capable of loving and enjoying God ; and, therefore, of ex- 
periencing a happiness that infinitely transcends all other enjoy- 
ment. This ocean of infinite fulness, this source of eternal and 
exhaustless happiness, gives the full demonstration of God's infinite 
goodness. And this enjoyment, also, never cloys ; but, with the 
progress, the delight increases. 

The doctrine of God's goodness, notwithstanding the abundance 
of its proofs, is attended with difficulties. Though sentient beings 
are not furnished with organs purposely prepared for the receiving 
of pain, they have organs for inflicting it, which are unquestion- 



78 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

ably the result of contrivance. The fangs of serpents, and the 
stings of insects, are instances of this kind ; and to these may be 
added the talons and tusks, or beaks, with which carnivorous ani- 
mals rend their prey. How is the existence of such pain-inflicting 
contrivances to be reconciled with the infinite goodness of God ? 
How can we explain, in harmony with this doctrine, the suffering 
which animals endure from the violence of each other, from hunger, 
cold, and disease ? Above all, how can we reconcile the innume- 
rable miseries with which human society is filled, in every rank and 
condition of life ? If God is infinitely good, why is human life 
begun in pain, and closed in pain, and subject to pain throughout 
its whole course ? 

These difficulties are of too much magnitude to be overlooked. 
They perplex the understanding, and disquiet the heart; and, 
therefore, demand a careful and candid consideration. The follow- 
ing observations are offered, to guard the heart against their 
influence. 

1. Admit the existence of the difficulties in their full force, and 
what then ? Does it follow that God is a malevolent being ? Were 
he so, the proofs of his malevolence would abound, as those of his 
goodness now do. We should everywhere find animal senses 
adapted to be the inlets of misery, and the objects of these senses 
all adapted to give pain. Does it follow that God is indifferent 
whether his creatures are happy or miserable? The numerous 
provisions which are made with a manifest reference to animal 
enjoyment, forbid this supposition. Does it follow that God is 
capricious ? This conclusion is precluded by the fact, that what 
suffering there is in the world, runs throughout along with its en- 
joyments ; the happiness and the misery are entwined with each 
other, and form parts of the same system. By summing up the 
whole, we discover that animal life has more enjoyment than suf- 
fering, and that its pains are, in most cases, incidental. In our 
daily experience, blessings are poured upon us incessantly; and 
when suffering comes, we are often conscious that it arises from our 
abuse of God's goodness, and is, therefore, no argument against it. 
In many other cases, we find present suffering conducive to future 
good ; and we have reason to believe that it would always be so, 
if we endured it with a proper spirit, and made a wise improvement 
of it. It becomes us, therefore, when sufferings occur, the bene- 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 79 

ficial tendency of which we cannot discover, to remember that we 
comprehend but a very small part of God's way. We have found 
every other attribute of his nature incomprehensible to us, and it 
ought not to surprise us that his goodness is so. 

The sufferings which we experience in ourselves, or see in others, 
become an occasion for the trial of our faith. To the understanding 
of a child, the discipline of his father may appear neither wise nor 
kind. Indulgences which are craved may be denied ; and toils 
and privations, exceedingly unwelcome, may be imposed. In these 
circumstances, it is the child's duty to confide where it cannot com- 
prehend. So we should exercise faith in the wisdom and goodness 
of our heavenly Father, and believe that his ways are full of good- 
ness, even when they are inscrutable. Enough of his goodness is 
seen elsewhere to satisfy us of its existence when mystery hides it 
from view. 

2. It cannot be proved that an admixture of pain with the large 
measure of enjoyment which God bestows on his creatures, is incon- 
sistent with his goodness. The insect of a day, and the immortal 
near the throne of God, derive their enjoyment from the same infi- 
nite goodness. If the short-lived insect should pass its few hours 
in the sunbeams without pain, and should be annihilated without 
pain, the difficulty which now embarrasses us would not apply to 
its case. Its existence, filled with enjoyment, would correspond 
with' our notions of the Creator's goodness ; and the finiteness, or 
very small measure of its enjoyment, would not disprove the source 
to be infinite from which it proceeds. Now, if a creature of ano- 
ther kind should have enjoyments a hundred fold greater, with an 
abatement of one measure of pain, its existence, on the whole, is 
ninety-nine times more desirable than that of the insect. Shall we, 
then, deny that this existence proceeds from the goodness of the 
deity ? If the pain forms a part of the same system with the plea- 
sure, we must attribute them to the same author ; and the animal 
that has ninety-nine measures of enjoyment remaining, has no more 
right to complain of the abatement of one by the endurance of 
pain, than the insect supposed would have to complain of the ab- 
sence of ninety-nine measures which the more favored creature 
enjoys. This consideration may satisfy us that the presence of 
some pain, connected with a far greater amount of enjoyment, is 
not inconsistent with the doctrine that God is infinitely good. 



80 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

Furthermore, it is perfectly conceivable that pain itself may, in 
some cases, enhance our pleasures, as relief from suffering renders 
subsequent enjoyment more exquisite : and, in other ways, which 
we are unable to comprehend, pain may produce a beneficial result. 
In this view, the existence of pain cannot be inconsistent with the 
goodness of God. 

3. Much of the suffering in the world is clearly the effect of sin, 
and is to be considered an infliction of divine justice. The justice 
of God claims scope for its exercise, as well as his goodness. The 
goodness of God is infinite, if it confers happiness as widely as is 
consistent with the other perfections of his nature. It is a favorite 
theory with some, that God aims at the greatest possible amount 
of happiness in the universe ; and that he admits evil, only because 
the admission of evil produces in the end a greater amount of hap- 
piness than its exclusion would have done. According to this 
theory, justice itself is a modification of benevolence ; and the pain 
suffered by one being, is inflicted from love to the whole. But 
whether justice be a modification of benevolence, or a distinct 
attribute, its claims must be regarded ; and goodness does not cease 
to be goodness, because it does not overthrow the government of 
God, or oppose his other perfections. 

Some persons attribute all the sufferings of brute animals to the 
sin of man, but the Scriptures do not clearly teach this doctrine ; 
and we have shown that the pain which brutes endure, may be 
otherwise reconciled with the goodness of God. That animals 
suffer because of man's sin, is clear in the cruelty which they often 
experience from human hands ; but that all their sufferings proceed 
from this cause is not so clear. Unless the order of things was 
greatly changed at the fall of man, hawks had their claws and beaks 
from the day they were created, and used them before man sinned, 
in taking and devouring other birds for food ; and, therefore, pain 
and death, in brute animals, did not enter the world by the sin of 
man. Brute animals have, on the whole, a happy existence. Free 
from anxiety, remorse, and the fear of death, they enjoy, with high 
relish, the pleasures which their Creator has given them ; and it is 
not the less a gift of his infinite goodness, because it is limited in 
quantity, or abated by some mixture of pain. 

4. It may be, that God's goodness is not mere love of happiness 
In his view, happiness may not be the only good, or even the chief 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 81 

good. He is himself perfectly happy ; yet this perfection of hia 
nature is not presented to us, in his word, as the only ground, or 
even the chief ground, on which his claim to divine honor and 
worship rests. The hosts of heaven ascribe holiness to him, and 
worship him because of it ; but not because of his happiness. If 
we could contemplate him as supremely happy, but deriving his 
happiness from cruelty, falsehood, and injustice, we should need 
a different nature from that with which he has endowed us, and a 
different Bible to direct us from that which he has given, before we 
could render him sincere and heart-felt adoration. In the regula- 
tion of our conduct, when pleasure and duty conflict with each 
other, we are required to choose the latter ; and this is often made 
the test of our obedience. On the same principle, if a whole life 
of duty and a whole life of enjoyment were set before us, that we 
might choose between them, we should be required to prefer holiness 
to happiness. It therefore accords with the judgment of God not 
to regard happiness as the chief good ; and the production of the 
greatest possible amount of happiness could not have been his 
prime object in the creation of the world. We may conclude that 
his goodness is not a weak fondness which indulges his creatures, 
and administers to their enjoyment, regardless of their conduct 
and moral character. It aims at their happiness, but in subordina- 
tion to a higher and nobler purpose. According to the order of 
things which he has established, it is rendered impossible for an 
unholy being to be happy, and this order accords with the goodness 
of God, which aims, not at the mere happiness of his universe, but 
at its well-being, in the best possible sense. 

If these views are correct, the miseries which sin has introduced 
into the world, instead of disproving the goodness of God, proceed 
from it, and demonstrate it. They are means used by the great 
Father of all, in the discipline of his great family, to deter from 
the greatest of all evils. Precisely this use the wisdom from above 
teaches us to make of his judgments and threatenings ; and when 
these awful means have taught us the evil of sin, and have been 
blessed to us as means of sanctification, we may perceive in them 
a manifestation of God's goodness. 

5. To infer the infinitude of God's goodness from its effects, we 
must view them in the aggregate. The perfection of his justice 
appears in its minute and precise adaptation to each particular 
6 



82 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

case. Every part of his administration must, when brought to the 
line of rectitude for comparison, be found to agree with it precisely. 
But as in estimating the length of a line, we do not examine its parts, 
so the infinitude of God's goodness must be judged from the aggre- 
gate -of its effects, as we learn the power of God, not from a single 
grain of sand, but from the whole extent of creation. 

To comprehend this vast subject, we need the infinite mind of 
God himself. In events which now appear to us dark and mys- 
terious, the seeds of future benefits to his creatures may be wrapped 
up, which will bring forth their fruit hereafter, for the use of 
admiring and adoring intelligences. The parts of the great system 
are so wonderfully adjusted to each other, that no finite being dare 
say that this is useless, or that pernicious or hurtful. Why God 
has made precisely such orders of creatures as inhabit the world 
with us, and why he has appointed to them their various modes of 
life, with the advantages and inconveniences peculiar to each, we 
are wholly unable to say ; and, if we undertake to say why he has 
made any creatures at all, we may assign a reason which we think 
we understand, but of which, in reality, we know but little. If 
the united intelligence of the universe could, lift up its voice to 
God, as the voice of one creature, and say, " Why hast thou made 
me thus ?" it would be daring impiety. How unbecoming then for 
man, who is a worm, to arraign the wisdom and goodness of his 
Maker ! 

The goodness of God is the attribute of his nature, which, above 
all others, draws forth the affection of our hearts. We are filled 
with awe at his eternity, omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipo- 
tence ; but we can imagine all these attributes connected with 
moral qualities which would render them repulsive. But the good- 
ness of God, while it is awful and grand, is at the same time pow- 
erfully attractive. It is this, when understood in its proper sense, 
not as the mere love of happiness, that renders Jehovah the pro- 
per centre of the moral universe. It is this that attracts the hearts 
of all holy intelligences now in heaven, and that is drawing to 
that high and holy place whatever on earth is most lovely and ex- 
cellent; and if the hearts of any repel this centre, and recede 
further from it, they are " wandering stars, to whom is reserved 
the blackness of darkness forever." 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOB. 83 



Section VIII. — TRUTH. 

God is a being? of inviolable truth. 1 

The truth of God includes veracity and faithfulness : — veracity 
in his declaration of things as they are, and faithfulness in the 
exact fulfilment of his promises and threatenings. Men often err 
in their testimony from mistake of facts, and fail through inability 
to fulfil promises which they have made with honest intentions. 
The omniscience of God renders mistake with him impossible ; and 
his omnipotence and unchangeableness render the fulfilment of his 
intentions certain. Truth, as a moral attribute, is the agreement 
of what is spoken with the mind of the speaker. We never charge 
men with want of veracity, when they err in their testimony through 
mere mistake ; or with want of faithfulness, when they fail to fulfil 
their promises entirely from inability. God's testimony is true, 
because it agrees perfectly with his view of things, and that this 
view agrees with the actual state of things, results, not from his 
truth, but his omniscience. His promises are true because 
they agree precisely with his intentions ; and that these intentions 
are exactly fulfilled, results from other attributes, as has been ex- 
plained. Truth is understood for the most part to refer to some- 
thing spoken or written ; but the truth of God may be understood, 
in a wider sense, to denote the agreement of all the revelations or 
manifestations which he has made of himself, with his mind and 
character. 

Because God's manifestations of himself are true, it does not 
follow that they are complete and perfect. He showed his glory 
to Moses ; but it was only a part of his glory that he exhibited, 
because Moses was unable to bear the full display. All manifesta- 
tions to his creatures are necessarily limited ; and they are made 
as seems good in his sight. Our knowledge of God, which is neces- 
sarily imperfect because of our weakness, is often erroneous, 
through our misuse of the manifestations which he has made. So 
the heathen world, when they knew God, glorified him not as God, 
but changed the truth of God into a lie. 

When men abuse the knowledge of God which they possess, and 

»Deut. xxxii. 4; Ps. cxix.142; John viii. 26; Rom. iii. 4; Tit. i. 2; Heb. 
*i. 18 ; Rev. iii. 7. 



84 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

the means of knowledge which he has afforded them, it is not in- 
consistent with his character to give them up, in righteous judg- 
ment, to their own hearts' lusts. Because they receive not the love 
of the truth, God shall send them strong delusions, 1 that they should 
believe a lie. So Ahab desired a false prophecy, and his prophets 
desired to gratify him, and God gave him up to be deceived. 2 This 
is expressed, in the prophetic imagery of Scripture, by his sending 
a lying spirit into the prophets. Ahab was deceived ; but it was 
in spite of the true word of God, by the prophet whom he rejected. 
Jeremiah complains that God had deceived him ; but this, in the 
most unfavorable construction that can be put on his language, 
amounts to nothing more than an impatient exclamation of the pro- 
phet, under a severe trial. 

We can have no knowledge of God, except by the manifestations 
he has made of himself. When we receive these, however made, 
as expressing to us the mind and character of God, we exercise 
faith in God But when we close our understandings and hearts 
against these manifestations, or, through disrelish of them, misin- 
terpret them in any manner, we are guilty of the great sin of un- 
belief, which rejects the testimony of God, and makes him a liar. 

Section IX.— JUSTICE. 

God is perfectly just. 3 

Justice consists in giving to every one his due. It has been dis- 
tinguished into Commutative and Distributive. Commutative Jus- 
tice is fair dealing in the exchange of commodities, and belongs to 
commerce. Distributive Justice rewards or punishes men according 
to their actions, and appertains to government. In either view, 
justice relates to the distribution of happiness, or the means of 
procuring it, and presupposes a principle or rule to which this dis- 
tribution should conform, and, according to which, something is due 
to the parties. Commutative Justice regulates the giving of one 
means of enjoyment in exchange for another, so as not to disturb 
the proportion of happiness allotted to each ; but Distributive Jus- 
tice rises higher, and respects the very allotment or distribution of 
happiness, giving to one, and withholding from another, according 

1 2 Thess. ii. 11. 2 1 Kings, xxii. 

8 Job xxxiv. 12 ; Ps. ix. 4 ; xcii. 15 ; Isaiah xxviii. 17 ; Rom. ii. 6. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 85 

to rule. It is in the latter sense only that justice is attributed to 
God. It implies the existence of moral government ; and it is the 
attribute which secures a faithful and perfect administration of this 
government. 

Some have admitted another distinction, to which the name 
Public Justice has been given. This determines the character of 
God's moral government, and the rules according to which it 
proceeds. It may be regarded as a question of definition, whether 
the existence and character of God's moral government shall be 
ascribed to his justice or his goodness. As this government tends 
to the greatest good of the universe, there appears to be no reason 
to deny that it originates in the goodness of God ; and if it be 
ascribed to his Public Justice, that justice may be considered a 
modification of his goodness. 

In the moral government of God, men are regarded as moral 
and as sentient beings, and the amount of their enjoyments is 
regulated with reference to their moral character. The precise 
adaptation of this is the province of justice. In the blindness of 
human depravity, men claim enjoyments as a natural right, irre- 
spective of their moral character and conduct. They reject the 
moral government of God, and seek happiness in their own way. 
This is their rebellion, and in this the justice of God opposes them. 
This is the attribute which fills them with terror, and arrays 
omnipotence against them. The moral government of God must 
be overthrown, and the monarch of the universe driven from his 
high seat of authority, or there is no hope of escape for the sinner. 
He would gladly rush into the vast storehouse of enjoyments which 
infinite goodness has provided, and claim them as his rvra, and riot 
on them at pleasure; but the sword of justice guards the entrance. 
In opposition to his desires, the government of God is firmly 
established, and justice and judgment are the habitation of his 
throne. Even in the present world, the manifestations of this 
government are everywhere visible ; and it is apparent that there 
is a God, a God of justice, who judgeth in the earth ; but the grand 
exhibition is reserved for the judgment of the great day. Con- 
science now, in God's stead, often pronounces sentence, though its 
voice is unheeded ; but the sentence from the lips of the Supreme 
Judge cannot be disregarded, and will fix the sinner's final doom. 

Although there are hearts so hard as to be unaffected by a sense 



86 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

of God's justice, a right view of this awful and glorious attribute 
inspires that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. 
An abiding assurance that a just God sits on the throne of the 
universe, is indispensable to the proper exercise of piety. 

Section X.— HOLINESS. 

God is immaculately holt. 1 

Goodness, truth and justice, are moral attributes of God. 
Holiness is not an attribute distinct from these ; but a name which 
includes them all, in view of their opposition to contrary qualities. 
It implies the perfection of the assemblage ; — the absence of every 
thing in it contrary to either of the properties included. 

Men are unholy. Even the purest of men have their spots. It 
is useful to contrast the character of God, in this respect, with that 
of men. It increases our admiration and love, adds fervor to our 
devotion, incites to worship him in the beauty of holiness, and to 
imitate him in our character and lives. "Be ye holy, for I am holy." 

Section XI. — WISDOM. 

God is infinitely wise. 2 

Knowledge and wisdom, though often confounded by careless 
thinkers, are different. "Wisdom always has respect to action. Our 
senses are affected by external objects, and perceptions of them 
arise in the mind, which constitute a large part of our knowledge. 
We learn their properties and relations, and this knowledge, laid 
up in the memory, becomes a valuable store, from which we may 
take what may be necessary for use. But it is in using this store 
that wisdom is exhibited. "When impressions from without have 
stirred the mental machinery within, that machinery, in turn, 
operates on things without. It is in the out-goings of the mind 
that wisdom has place, and is concerned in forming* our plans and 
purposes of action. Our knowledge and moral principles have 
much influence in directing our conduct, and that man is considered 
wise, whose knowledge and moral principles direct his conduct well. 

1 Ex. xv. 11 ; Lev. xi. 44 ; 1 Sam. ii. 2 ; Job. iv. 18 ; Ps. v. 4, 5 ; xxii. 3 ; Isa. 
ri. 3 ; Hab. i. 13 ; Matt. v. 48 ; 1 John i. 5 ; Rev. iv. 8. 

* Job iv. 18 ; xxxvi. 5 ; Ps. civ. 24 ; Prov. xxi. 30 ; Rom. xi. 33 ; 1 Cor. i. 25. 
1 Tim. i. 17. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 87 

Wisdom is therefore regarded as consisting in the selection of the 
best end of action, and the adoption of the best means for the 
accomplishment of this end. 

God is infinitely wise, because he selects the best possible end 
of action. What the end is which Jehovah has in view in all his 
works, we cannot claim to comprehend. The Scriptures speak of 
the glory of God as the end of creation and redemption, and we 
seem authorized to speak of this as the end of all his works ; but 
what is the full import of the phrase, "the glory of God?" We 
suppose it to signify such a manifestation of his perfections, and 
especially of his moral perfections, as is supremely pleasing to him- 
self, and therefore to all intelligent beings who are like-minded 
with him. But we are lost in the contemplation. 

God is infinitely wise, because he adopts the best possible means 
for the accomplishment of the end which he has in view. In 
creation his wisdom made them all ; l and in redemption he hath 
abounded toward us in all wisdom. 2 He worketh all things after 
the counsel of his will ; 3 and he is wise in counsel. 

The wisdom of God is an unfathomable deep. His way is in the 
sea, and his path in the mighty waters. the depth of the riches 
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! 4 A child cannot 
comprehend the plans of a sage statesman ; much less can the 
wisest of men comprehend the plans of the only wise God. We 
should ever bear this in mind when we undertake to inquire into 
the reasons of the divine procedure. 

The question, why God permitted the entrance of sin into the 
world, has baffled the wisdom of the wise. As a being of perfect 
holiness, he hates sin with a perfect hatred. Having infinite 
power to exclude it from his dominions, why did he permit its 
entrance ? As the benevolent Father of his great family, why did 
he permit so ruinous an evil to invade it ? Was there some over- 
sight in his plan, some failure in the wisdom of his arrangements, 
that rendered this direful disaster possible ? As our faith is often 
perplexed with these questions, such observations as the following 
may be of use to assist its weakness. 

1. Sin is in the world; and God is infinitely good and wise. 
The first of these propositions expresses a fact of which we have 

1 Ps. civ. 24. 2 Eph- i# 8# 3 Eph> L n 4 Rom> si> 33# 



88 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

daily proof, before our eyes and in our hearts ; the second is an 
indubitable truth of natural and revealed religion. Though we 
may be unable to reconcile these propositions, they are both worthy 
to be received with unwavering faith. No man, in his right mind, 
can doubt either of them. 

2. The existence of sin is not to be ascribed to weakness in God. 
He could easily have barred it out of his dominions. He might 
have declined to make moral agents, and have filled the world with 
creatures possessing no moral faculties, and therefore incapable 
of sinning. Or, for aught that appears to the contrary, it was in 
his power to create moral agents, and so confirm them in holiness 
from the first, as to render their fall impossible. Or, on the very 
first appearance of sin in any one of his creatures, he might have 
at once annihilated the transgressor, and have prevented the evil 
from spreading, to the ruin of his subjects, or even remaining in 
his dominions. If we can, for a moment, entertain doubt on this 
point, his perfect control of the evil, now that it has obtained 
entrance into his dominion, is sufficient to confirm our faith. It 
has indeed entered, and the prince of the power of the air is com- 
bined with his numerous legions, to give it prevalence and triumph. 
But, to destroy the works of the devil, the son of God appeared in 
human nature. He chose the weakness of that nature for the 
display of his power, in crushing the head of the old serpent. 
Hence Christ is the power of God. In his deepest humiliation, 
in the hour while hanging on the cross, he triumphed over his foe, 
and gave proof of his triumphant power, by plucking the thief, 
who expired near him, from the very jaws of destruction. The 
cross exhibits the brightest display of omnipotence. 

3. The existence of sin is not inconsistent with the justice of 
God. It is the province of justice to punish the sinner, but not to 
annihilate his sin. Justice, in the wide sense in which it is called 
Public Justice, and coincides with Goodness, will be considered, in 
its relation to this subject, in the next observation ; but, in its ordi- 
nary sense, it supposes the existence of moral government, and 
moral agents, and, therefore, the possibility of transgression. Laws 
are made with reference to the lawless and disobedient ; and the 
civil ruler would be armed with the sword in vain, if there could be 
no evil-doers to whom he might be a terror. Justice does not pre- 
vent the entrance of sin, but finds in it an occasion for its highest 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 89 

exercise. This attribute is displayed awfully and gloriously in the 
punishment of offenders. On seeing the destruction of Antichrist, 
and the smoke of his torment ascending up for ever and ever, the 
inhabitants of heaven are represented as saying: "Alleluia; for 
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." 1 It is in the exercise of his 
punitive justice that they understand his government, and where- 
fore he is seated on the throne. Justice and judgment are the 
habitation of his throne. 

4. The existence of sin is not inconsistent with the goodness of 
God. Even those who explain goodness to be the love of happiness 
for its own sake, and understand utility, or the production of hap- 
piness, to be the foundation of virtue, do not conclude that God's 
goodness must necessarily exclude moral evil from the world. On 
the contrary, they suppose that he will overrule the evil so as ulti- 
mately to produce a larger amount of happiness in the universe, 
than would have existed had moral evil never entered. If this be 
taken as a mere hypothesis, until it be disproved, it will be sufficient 
to answer objections ; and the hypothesis cannot be disproved by a 
mind incapable of comprehending the infinite subject. If God's 
goodness aims at the well-being of the universe, rather than at its 
happiness, another hypothesis, impossible to be disproved, may be 
made, that God overrules the existence of sin so as to produce most 
important moral benefits. What these may be, we cannot be ex- 
pected to understand ; but of one benefit, at least, we can form a 
conjecture. As God's moral perfections are the glory of his cha- 
racter, so his moral government is the glory of his universal 
scheme ; and it may, therefore, have been pleasing to his infinite 
mind to permit the entrance of sin, because it gave occasion for the 
display of his justice and moral government. It may accord best 
with his infinite wisdom, to confirm his obedient subjects in holiness, 
not by physical necessity, but by moral influence ; and the display 
of his justice and moral government must be a most important 
means for the accomplishment of this end. How could the intel- 
ligences that are to expand for ever in the presence of his throne, 
have those moral impressions which are necessary to the perfection 
of their holiness, if they should for ever remain ignorant' of his 
justice, and hatred of sin ? 

''Rev. xix. 6. 



90 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

Ir contemplating this subject, it is important to keep in view, 
that God's goodness is to be estimated by its aggregate effect. As 
including the love of happiness, it provides enjoyments for his crea- 
tures : in this life, innumerable and ever present, though not infi- 
nite,, or unmixed ; and in the life to come, what eye has not seen, 
or ear heard, or the heart of man conceived. This mass of enjoy- 
ment he has not thrown before his creatures, that each may secure 
to himself what he can ; but infinite justice guards the distribution 
of it. The rule of distribution is that which Public Justice, or 
God's goodness, considered as the love of well-being, has prescribed 
in the establishment of his moral government. Infinite goodness 
secures the greatest possible good from his universal administration, 
while perfect justice regulates all the details of that administration, 
in beautiful harmony with the grand design. 

5. Although to do evil that good may come is reprobated in God's 
word, yet to permit evil, which he overrules for good, accords with 
his method of procedure. It is said : " The wrath of man shall 
praise thee, and the remainder of wrath thou shalt restrain." 1 In 
this it is clearly implied that a portion of the wrath is unrestrained, 
or permitted, and is overruled for good. Paul asks, "What if God, 
willing to show his wrath, and make his power known, endured with 
much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction ?" 2 
Endurance and long-suffering is the permission of the continuance 
of the evil ; and the display of God's justice and power thereby, is 
manifestly supposed in the Apostle's question. The crucifixion of 
Christ, a deed perpetrated by wicked hands, was permitted by God. 
He was even delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknow- 
ledge of God. This event has been overruled to good inconceivably 
great. Why may we not suppose that it accorded with infinite 
wisdom to permit the entrance of sin, with a view to the glorious 
scheme of redemption by the blood of Christ ? Christ crucified is 
the wisdom of God. In his cross, the power, goodness, justice, and 
wisdom of God, are harmoniously and gloriously displayed. While 
we glory in the cross of Christ, we do not forget that the enemies 
of the cross are to perish. Mournful as the fact is, our hearts will 
fully approve the sentence which will be executed upon them, when 
we shall hear it pronounced by the lips of the righteous judge. 

1 Ps. lxxvi. 10. 2 Rom. ix. 22. 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 91 

Such was the benevolence of Paul's heart, that he was willing to 
lay down his life for the salvation of souls ; yet so overpowering 
was his sense of Christ's claim to the love of every human heart, 
that he did not hesitate to exclaim : "If any man love not the Lord 
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha." 1 If it accorded 
with his love of souls to pronounce this imprecation, it will accord 
with the benevolence of God to punish the enemies of Christ with 
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from 
the glory of his power. If our minds now fail fully to approve the 
awful sentence, it is because we inadequately conceive the glory 
and loveliness of Christ. 

It should fill us with joy, that infinite wisdom guides the affairs 
of the world. Many of its events are shrouded in darkness and 
mystery, and inextricable confusion sometimes seems to reign. 
Often wickedness prevails, and God seems to have forgotten the 
creatures that he has made. Our own path through life is dark 
and devious, and beset with difficulties and dangers. How full of 
consolation is the doctrine, that infinite wisdom directs every event, 
brings order out of confusion, and light out of darkness, and, to 
those who love God, causes all things, whatever be their present 
aspect and apparent tendency, to work together for good. 

CONCLUSION. 

The doctrine concerning God harmonizes with the affections of 
the pious heart, and tends to cherish them. The moral nature of 
those who do not love God, demonstrates his existence and their 
obligation to love him, and consequently, their nature is at war with 
itself. There is a conflict within, between conscience and the de- 
praved affections. The moral principle is in the unrenewed heart, 
overrun with unholy passions ; and it cannot be duly developed, 
until the affections are sanctified. When, by this change, harmony 
has been produced in the inner man, all that is within will har- 
monize with the doctrine concerning God. The mind, in its proper 
and healthy action, joyfully receives the doctrine, and finds in God 
the object of its highest love. The pious man rejoices that God 
exists, and that his attributes are what nature and revelation pro- 

1 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 



92 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

claim them to be. " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there 
is none upon earth that I desire beside thee." 1 

The doctrine concerning God not only harmonizes with inward 
piety, but tends to cherish it. If love to God exists when he is 
but partially known, it will increase as our knowledge of him in- 
creases. As the pious man studies the character of God, the 
beauty and glory of that character open to his view, and his heart is 
drawn out towards it with more intense affection. With such soul- 
ravishing views the Psalmist had been favored, when he exclaimed, 
" God, thou art my God ; early will I seek thee : my soul 
thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty 
land, where no water is ; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I 
have seen thee in the sanctuary." 2 

The love of God, which is increased by a true knowledge of him, 
is not a mere feeling of gratitude for blessings received. Many 
persons talk of God's goodness, and profess to love him, who have 
no pleasure in contemplating his holiness and justice, and to whom 
these are unwelcome attributes. When such persons stand before 
him in the last judgment, there is reason to fear that they will find 
him to be a different God from that which they loved and praised 
on earth. Love to the true God is love to the God of holiness and 
justice, the God in whom every moral perfection is united ; and if 
our love is of this kind, we shall delight to survey the glories of the 
divine character, and, apart from all views of the benefits received 
from him, shall be enamored of his essential loveliness. 

The love to God which increases by a true knowledge of him, is 
pervaded with a deep-felt reverence for his character. The familiar 
levity with which he is sometimes approached and addressed, by no 
means comports with the awful exhibitions of himself which he has 
made in his works and in his word. They who, while they profess 
to love him, have no solemn sense of his infinite grandeur and holi- 
ness, have yet to learn the fear of God, which is the beginning of 
wisdom. The true knowledge of God will rectify this evil in the 
heart. 

The true love of God is accompanied with humility. When we 
are absorbed in the contemplation of the human mind, we may well 
be filled with admiration of its powers and capacities. But lately, 



1 Ps. lxxiii. 25. 2 Ps. lxiii. 1, 2 



ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 9B 

it rose into being, from the darkness of nonentity, a spark so 
feebly glimmering, that an omniscient eye only could perceive its 
light. In the short period which has intervened, it has gradually 
increased in splendor, and has probably astonished the world by 
its brilliance. What was once the feeblest ray of intellect, has be- 
come a Newton, a Locke, a Howard, or a Napoleon. And when 
we conceive of this immortal mind, as continuing to expand its 
powers throughout a boundless future, we are ready to form a high 
estimate of human greatness. But when we remember that man, 
whatever he is, and whatever he is capable of, is a creature formed 
by the hand of God, and endowed by him with all these noble 
faculties; when we consider that, with all his advancement through 
eternal ages, he will forever be as nothing, compared with the in- 
finitude of God ; and when we look back into past eternity, and 
contemplate God as existing with all this boundlessness of perfec- 
tion, ages of ages before our feeble existence commenced ; we may 
well turn away from all admiration of human greatness, and ex- 
claim, " Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him ?" 

But the strongest incentive to humility is found in contrasting 
our depravity with God's holiness. Noble as the human intellect 
is, it is ruined by its apostasy from God. Every depraved son 
of Adam, who has studied the attributes of God, and has attained 
to some knowledge of his immaculate holiness, may well exclaim, 
in deep humility, " Wo is me ! a man of unclean lips ; for mine 
eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." 1 

The true knowledge of God gives confidence in him. In view 
of his truth, we learn to put unwavering trust in the manifestations 
of himself which he has made, and the promises which he has given, 
for the foundation of our hope. There are times when the good 
man loses his sensible enjoyment of the divine favor, and when the 
sword of justice appears pointed at his breast ; but even then, with 
the true knowledge and love of God in his heart, he can say, 
" Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 

The doctrine concerning God which the Bible teaches, confirms 
its claim to be regarded as the word of God. 

This doctrine, as we have seen, is precisely adapted to man's 
moral nature, and calls forth the moral and religious principles 

1 Isaiah vi. 5. 



94 DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. 

with which his Creator has endowed him, into their best and noblest 
exercise. If viewed apart from his relation to God, man, the crea- 
ture so wonderfully endowed, is an enigma in the universe ; but the 
doctrine concerning God solves the mystery. The tendency of 
this doctrine to exert a' sanctifying influence, at the very origin of 
all human feeling and action, demonstrates that it comes from God. 
He who experiences its sanctifying power on his heart, has a proof 
of its truth that nothing else can give. For this doctrine, we are 
chiefly indebted to the Bible. Here God, who has dimly exhibited 
himself in his works, comes forth in a direct communication, and 
like the sun in the heavens, makes himself visible by his own light. 
If the religious principle within us acted as it ought, the doctrine 
of the Bible would be as precisely adapted to us as the light of 
the sun is to the eye ; and we should have as thorough conviction 
that the God of the Bible exists, as we have that the sun exists, 
when we see him shining forth with all his splendor in the mid- 
heavens. 

The proof that the Bible is the word of God, will accumulate as 
we make progress in our investigation of religious truth. We have 
advanced one step, by our inquiries into the existence and attributes 
of God ; and the glory of the Bible-doctrine concerning God, has 
shone on our path with dazzling brightness. Let us continue to 
prosecute our studies, guided by this holy book ; and if we open 
our hearts to the sanctifying power of its truth, we shall have in- 
creasing proof, in its influence on our souls, that it comes from the 
God of holiness. 



BOOK THIRD. 

DOCTEINE CONCERNING THE WILL 
AND WORKS OF GOD. 



INTRODUCTION 



If any one supposes that religion consists merely of self-denial 
A,nd painful austerities, and that it is filled with gloom and melan- 
choly, to the exclusion of all happiness, he greatly mistakes its true 
character. False religions, and false views of the true religion, 
may be liable to this charge ; but the religion which has God for 
its author, and which leads the soul to God, is full of peace and 
joy. It renders us cheerful amidst the trials of life, contented with 
all the allotments of Divine Providence, happy in the exercises of 
piety and devotion, and joyful in the hope of an endless felicity. 
Heaven is near in prospect ; and, while on the way to that world 
of perfect and eternal bliss, we are permitted, in some measure, 
to anticipate its joys, being, even here, blessed with all spiritual 
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 2 We are enabled, not 
only to pursue our pilgrimage to the good land with content and 
cheerfulness, but even to "delight ourselves in the Lord." 3 Our 
happiness is not merely the absence of grief and pain, but it is 
positive delight. 

1 Ps. xxxvii. 4. Delight thyself in the Lord. 
Ps. xl. 8. I delight to do thy will, my God. 

Ps. cxix. 47. I will delight myself in thy commandments. 
Pom. vii. 22. I delight in the law of God. 
Ps.. cvii. 22. Declare his works with rejoicing. 

2 Eph. i. 3. s p s# xxxv ii. 4. 

(95) 



96 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD; 

The delight which attends other religious exercises should be felt 
in the investigation of religious truth, and should stimulate to dili- 
gence and perseverance. Divine truth is not only sanctifying, but 
it is also beatifying. To the ancient saints it was sweeter than 
honey and the honey-comb; 1 and the early Christians, in " be- 
lieving" the truth as it is in Jesus, " rejoiced with joy unspeakable 
and full of glory." 2 If we loved the truth as we ought, we should 
excellence equal delight in receiving it; and the careful investiga- 
tion of it would be a source of pure and abiding pleasure. It 
would not suffice to employ our intellectual powers in the discussion 
of perplexing questions appertaining to religion, but we should find 
a rich feast in the truth that may be known and read by all. The 
man who indulges his skeptical doubts, and suffers himself to be 
detained by questions to no profit, is like one who, when a boun- 
tiful feast is spread before him, instead of enjoying the offered food, 
employs himself in examining a supposed flaw in the dish in which 
it is served. The glorious' truths which are plainly revealed con- 
cerning God, and the things of God, are sufficient to enable every 
one to delight himself in the Lord. 

We have before seen that love to God lies at the foundation of 
true religion. Love, considered as simple benevolence, has for its 
object the production of happiness, and not the receiving of it. 
But, by the wise arrangements of infinite goodness, the producing 
of happiness blesses him that gives as well as him that receives. 
It is even "more blessed to give than to receive." 3 But when God 
is the object of our love, as we cannot increase his happiness, we 
delight in it as already perfect ; and all the outflowing of our love 
to him, finding the measure of his bliss already full, returns back 
on ourselves, filling us also with the fulness of God. God is love ; 
and to love God with all the heart is to have the heart filled, to the 
full measure of its capacity, with the blessedness of the divine 
nature. This is the fulness of delight. 

In the existence and attributes of God a sufficient foundation is 
laid for the claim of supreme love to him ; but, for the active exer- 
cise of the holy affection, God must be viewed not merely as exist- 
ing, but as acting. To produce delight in him, his perfections 
must be manifested. So we enjoy the objects of our earthly love 

1 Ps. xix. 10. 2 1 Pet. i. 8. 3 Acts xx. 35. 



DUTY OF DELIGHTING IN THEM. 97 

by their presence, with us, and the display of those qualities whick 
attract our hearts. Heaven is full of bliss, because its inhabitants 
not only love God, but see the full manifestations of his glory. T j 
enjoy God on earth, we must contemplate him in such manifestations 
of himself as he has been pleased to make to us who dwell on his 
footstool. These we may discover in the declarations of his will, 
and in his works, which are the execution of his will. In a con- 
templation of these, the pious heart finds a source of pure, ele- 
vating delight. 

When the Son of God consented to appear in human nature for 
the salvation of man, he said : " I delight to do thy will, my 
God." 1 If the same mind were in us that was in Christ Jesus, we, 
too, would delight in the will of God. We should be able to say 
with David, "I will delight myself in thy commandments;" and 
with Paul, "I delight in the law of God." We should yield obe- 
dience to every precept, not reluctantly, but cheerfully ; not cheer- 
fully only, but with joy and delight. It would be to us meat and 
drink to do the will of God, as it was to our blessed Lord. Our 
religious enjoyment would consist not merely in receiving good 
from God, but in rendering active service to him ; like the happy 
spirits before the throne, who serve God day and night, and delight 
in his service. Not only should we delight to render personal ser- 
vice to our Sovereign, but we should desire his will to be done by 
all others, and should rejoice in his universal dominion. " The 
Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice." 

As the ancient saints delighted in the will and government of 
God, so they delighted in his works. They saw in them the mani-. 
festations of his wisdom, power, and goodness ; and they delighted 
to meditate on them. His glory, displayed in the heavens, and his 
handy work, visible in earth, they contemplated with holy pleasure. 
They rejoiced to remember, "It is he that made us;" and, in ap- 
proaching him with religious worship, they were accustomed to ad- 
dress him as the Creator of all things : " Lord, thou art God, which 
hast made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is." 2 

The goodness displayed in God's works awakens gratitude in the 
pious man. While he enjoys the gift, he recognises the- hand 
which bestows it; and each blessing is rendered more dear, because 

1 Ps. xl. 8. s Acts iv. 24. 



98 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

conferred by him whom he supremely loves. He sees in creation a 
vast store-house of enjoyment, and blesses the author of it. He 
receives from the providence of God the innumerable benefits which 
are every day bestowed, and he blesses the kind bestower. God 
is in every mercy, and his heart, in enjoying it, goes out ever to 
God, with incessant praise and thanksgiving. 

The trial of our delight in God is experienced when affliction 
comes. The pious man feels that this, too, is from the hand of 
God. So thought all the saints, of whose religious exercises the 
Bible gives us an account. They bowed under affliction in the 
spirit of resignation to God, as the author of the affliction. So 
Job, 1 " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be 
the name of the Lord." So David, 2 " I was dumb, I opened not 
my mouth; because thou didst it." So Eli, 3 "It is the Lord; let 
him do what seemeth him good." So Paul's companions, 4 "We 
ceased, saying, the will of the Lord be done." The ancient saints 
believed in an overruling Providence, and they received all afflic- 
tions as ordered by him, in every particular ; and on this faith the 
resignation was founded by which their eminent piety was distin- 
guished. To the flesh, the affliction was not joyous, but grievous, 
and, therefore, they could not delight in it, when considered in 
itself; but, when enduring it with keenest anguish, they could still 
say, with Job, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." They firmly 
believed that the dispensation was wisely and kindly ordered, and 
that God would bring good out of the evil ; and, however oppressed 
with suffering, and filled with present sorrow, they still trusted in 
God ; and delight in him alleviated their misery, and mingled with 
their sorrows. 

Let love to God burn in our hearts while we contemplate his ex- 
istence and attributes. Let delight in him rise to the highest rap- 
ture of which earthly minds are susceptible, while we study his will 
and works. The grand work of redemption, into which the angels 
especially desire to look, and which is the chief theme of the song 
of the glorified, is fitted to produce higher ecstasy ; but even the 
themes of creation and providence may fill us with delight, if we 
approach them as we Ought. When the foundations of the earth 
were laid, the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God 



1 Job i. 21. 2 Ps. xxxix. 9. 3 1 Sam. iii. 18. * Acts xxi. 14. 



WILL OF GOD. 



99 



shouted for joy ; and angels now delight to be the ministers of 
God's providence. Let us, with like devotion to Almighty God, 



delight in his will and works. 



CHAPTER I. 

WILL OF GOD. 



The term will, which always imports desire, is variously applied, 
according to the object of that desire. 

1. It denotes intention or purpose to act. It is said of Apollos 
" His will was not at all to come at this time," 1 i. e., he had nofr 
formed the intention or purpose to come. In this sense, the will 
of God is spoken of: " According to the purpose of him who work- 
eth all things after the counsel of his own will." 2 Purpose or 
intention may exist before the time of action arrives. When it has 
arrived, the mind puts forth an act termed volition, to produce the 
desired effect. In human beings, purposes may be fickle, and may 
undergo change before the time for action comes ; but God's pur- 
pose or intention is never changed ; and when the time for pro- 
ducing the purposed effect arrives, we are not to conceive that a 
new volition arises in the mind of God; but the effect follows, 
according to the will of God, without any new effort on his part. 

2. It denotes a desire to act, restrained by stronger opposing 
desires, or other counteracting influences. Pilate was "willing" 
to release Jesus ; 3 but other considerations, present to his mind, 
overruled this desire, and determined his action. We are com- 
pelled to conceive of the divine mind, from the knowledge which 
we possess of our own ; and the Scriptures adapt their language 
to our conceptions. In this way, a desire to act is sometimes 
attributed to God, when opposing considerations prevent his action. 
" I would scatter them, were it not that I feared the wrath of the 
enemy." 4 u How often would I have gathered, &c, and ye would 
not." 5 

1 1 Cor. xvi. 12. 2 Eph. i. 11. 3 Luke xxiii. 20. 4 Deut. xxxii. 27. 
* Matt, xxiii. 37. 



100 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

3. It is used with reference to an external object that is desired, 
or an action which it is desired that another should perform. 
" Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not." l "Be it unto thee as thou 
wilt." 2 "Ask what ye will." 3 "What will ye, that I should do." 4 In 
this sense, as expressing simply what is in itself desirable to God, 
will is attributed to him. " Not willing that any should perish, 
but that all should come to repentance." 5 " I have no pleasure 
in the death of the wicked, &c." 6 " This is the will of God, even 
your sanctification." 7 

4. Closely allied to the last signification, and perhaps included 
in it, is that use of the term will, in which it denotes command, 
requirement. When the person, whose desire or pleasure it is that 
an action should be performed by another, has authority over that 
other, the desire expressed assumes the character of precept. The 
expressed will of a suppliant, is petition ; the expressed will of a 
ruler, is command. What we know that it is the pleasure of God 
we should do, it is our duty to do, and his pleasure made known to 
us becomes a law. 

Will of Command. 

It is specially important to distinguish between the first and last 
of the significations which have been enumerated. In the first, the 
will of God refers exclusively to his own action, and imports his 
fixed determination as to what he will do. It is called his will of 
purpose, and always takes effect. In the last sense, it refers to 
the actions of his creatures, and expresses what it would be pleas- 
ing to him that they should do. This is called his will of precept, 
and it always fails to take effect when the actions of his creatures 
do not please him, i. e., when they are in violation of his com- 
mands. The will of purpose is intended, when it is said, " Accord- 
ing to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel 
of his own will, " 8 and, " He doeth according to his will in the army 
of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth." 9 The will of 
precept is intended, when it is said, " Thy will be done in earth, 
as it is in heaven. 10 Let it be noted that, in the former case, God 
only is the agent, and the effect is certain; in the latter, his 

1 Heb. x. 5. 2 Matt. xv. 28. 8 John xv. 7. 4 Mark xv. 12. 

6 2 Peter iii. 9. 6 Ezek. xxxiii. 11. 7 1 Thess. iv. 3. 8 Eph. i. 11. 
9 Dan. iv. 35. 10 Matt. vi. 10. 



WILL OF GOD. 101 

creatures are the agents, and the effect is not an object of certain 
expectation, but of petition. 

God's Will op Command, however made known to us, is 
our rule of duty. 1 

The Scriptures make the will of God the rule of duty, both to 
those who have the means of clear knowledge, and those who have 
not. The disobedience of the former will be punished with man^ 
stripes, that of the latter with few. No man will be held account- 
able, except for the means of knowledge that are within his reach ; 
but these, even in the case of the benighted heathen, are sufficient 
to render them inexcusable. We have no right to dictate to God in 
what manner he shall make his will known to us ; but we are bound 
to avail ourselves of all possible means for obtaining the knowledge 
of it ; and, when known, we are bound to obey it perfectly, and 
from the heart. 

Various terms are used to denote the will of God, as made known 
in the Holy Scriptures, statutes, judgments, laws, precepts, ordi- 
nances, &c. The two great precepts, which lie at the foundation 
of all the laws, are, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The first of 
these is expanded into the four commandments, which constitute 
the first table of the decalogue ; the second into the six command- 
ments, which constitute the second table. The decalogue was 
given for a law to the children of Israel, as is apparent from its in- 
troduction. " I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out 
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." 2 It was, how- 
ever, distinguished from the other laws given to that nation, by 
being pronounced audibly from Sinai with the voice of God, and by 
being engraved with the finger of God on the tables of stone. 
When we examine its precepts, we discover that they respect the 
relations of men, as men, to God and to one another ; and we find, 
in the New Testament, that their obligation is regarded as extend- 
ing to Gentiles under the gospel dispensation. 3 We infer, therefore, 
that the decalogue, though given to the Israelites, respected them 
as men, and not as a peculiar people, and is equally obligatory on 
all men. 

The ceremonial law respected the children of Israel as a wor- 

1 Ps. xl. 8; cxliii. 10; Matt. vi. 10; Rom. ii. 18; Ex. xx; Rom. ii. 12-15; 
Eccl. xii. 13. 2 Ex. xx. 2. 3 Rom. xiii. 8, 9 j Eph. vi. 2. 



102 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

shipping congregation, called "the Congregation of the Lord." 
It commenced with the institution of the passover, and ended when 
Christ our passover was sacrificed for us, and when the hand- 
writing of ordinances was nailed to the cross. Then its obligation 
ceased. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are ceremonies of the 
Christian dispensation, obligatory on the disciples of Christ, to the 
end of the world. 

The judicial law was given to the Israelites as a nation, and is 
not obligatory on any other people. The principles of justice on 
which it was based, are universal, and should be incorporated into 
every civil code. 

Will of Purpose. 

God wills whatever he does. 1 

God is a voluntary agent. There are many powers in nature 
which operate without volition. Fire consumes the fuel, steam 
moves the engine, and poison takes away life ; but these have no 
will. Even beings that possess will, sometimes act involuntarily, 
and sometimes against their will, or by compulsion from a superior 
power. God acts voluntarily in every thing that he does ; — not 
by physical necessity ; not by compulsion from any superior 
power ; not by mistake, or oversight, or power unintentionally 
exerted. Men may plead in apology for their acts, that they were 
done in thoughtlessness, or through inadvertence ; but God has 
never any such apology to make. Known unto him are all his 
works from the beginning of the world, 2 and therefore they have 
been duly considered. 

God does whatever he wills to do. 3 

God is not omnipotent, if he absolutely wills or desires to do 
anything, and fails to accomplish it. 

Whatever God does is according to a purpose that is 
eternal, unchangeable, perfectly free, and infinitely wise. 4 

That God has a purpose, none can deny, who attribute wisdom 
to him. To act without purpose is the part of a child, or an idiot. 
A wise man does not act without purpose, much less can the only 
wise God. Besides, the Scriptures speak so expressly of his pur- 

1 Job xxiii. 13 ; Dan. iv. 35 ; Eph. i. 11. 2 Acts xv. U. 

3 Job xxiii. 13 ; Dan. iv. 35 ; Eph. i. 11 ; Isa. xlvi. 10 ; Dan. xi. 36. 

4 Job xxiii. 13; Isa. xl. 14; xlvi. 10; Jer. li. 29; Rom. viii. 28; Eph i. 11; 
iii. 11 ; 2 Tim. i. 9. 



WILL OF GOD. 103 

pose, that no one, who admits the authority of revelation, can 
reject the doctrine, however much he may misinterpret or abuse it. 
The term implies that God has an end in view in whatever he 
does, and that he has a plan according to which he acts. 

The purpose of God is eternal and unchangeable. A wise man, 
in executing a purpose, may have many separate volitions, which 
are momentary actings of his mind ; but his purpose is more dur- 
able, continuing from its first formation in the mind to its complete 
execution. The term will, as applied to the act of the divine mind, 
does not, in itself, imply duration ; but the purpose of God, from 
the very import of the phrase, must have duration. God must 
have had a purpose when he created the world ; and the Scriptures 
speak of his purpose before the world began. But the duration 
of it is still more explicitly declared in the phrase, " the eternal 
purpose." 1 The term is never used in the plural number by the 
inspired writers ; as if God had many plans, or a succession of 
plans. It is one entire, glorious scheme ; and the date of it is 
from everlasting. Its eternity implies its unchangeableness ; and 
its unchangeableness implies its eternity ; and its oneness accords 
with both these properties. 

The purpose of God is perfectly free. It is not forced upon him 
from without ; for nothing existed to restrict the infinite mind of 
him who was before all. It is the purpose which he hath "pur- 
posed in himself." 2 It is his will ; and must, therefore, be volun- 
tary. The term purpose and will apply to the same thing in dif- 
ferent aspects of it, or according to different modes of conceiving 
it. If purpose more naturally suggests the idea of duration, will 
suggests its freeness. It is not the fate believed in by the ancient 
heathens, by which they considered the gods to be bound, as truly 
as men. 

The purpose of God is infinitely wise. We have argued, that 
God must have a purpose because he is wise ; and, therefore, his 
wisdom must be concerned in his purpose. It is not an arbitrary 
or capricious scheme; but one devised by infinite wisdom, having 
the best possible end to accomplish, and adopting the best possible 
means for its accomplishment. 

Writers on theology have employed the term Decrees, to denote 

1 Eph. iii. 11. 2 Eph. i. 9. 



104 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

the purpose of God. It is an objection to this term, that there is 
no inspired authority for its use in this sense. When the Scriptures 
use the term decree, they signify by it a command promulged, to be 
observed by those under authority. It is the will of precept, rather 
than the will of purpose. And further, its use in the plural num- 
ber does not accord so well with the oneness of the divine plan. 

Scarcely any doctrine of religion has given so much occasion for 
cavil and stumbling as that of God's decrees. As if men would 
be wiser than God, they refuse to let him form a plan, or they 
find fault with it when formed ; and very few have so much humi- 
lity and simplicity of faith, as to escape wholly from the embar- 
rassment which the objections to this doctrine have produced. 
They, therefore, need a careful examination. 

Objection 1. — The purpose of God is inconsistent with the free- 
agency of man. 

It is a full answer to this objection, that a mere purpose cannot 
interfere with the freedom of any one. When a tyrant designs to 
imprison one of his subjects, until the design is carried into execu- 
tion, the liberty of the subject is not invaded. He roams as free 
as ever, untouched by the premeditated evil. The infringement of 
his liberty commences when the purpose begins to be executed, and 
not before. So, in the divine government, the purpose of the Su- 
preme Ruler interferes not at all with the liberty of his subjects, 
so long as it remains a mere purpose. The objection which we are 
considering, is wholly inapplicable to the doctrine of God's purpose. 
Its proper place, if it has any, is against the doctrine of God's 
providence ; and, under that head, it will be proper to meet it. It 
was God's purpose to create man a free-agent ; and he did so create 
him. Thus far, neither the purpose, nor the execution of it, can 
be charged with infringing man's moral freedom ; but they unite to 
establish it. It was God's purpose to govern man as a free-agent ; 
and has he not done so ? If every man feels that the providence 
of God, while it presides in the affairs of men, leaves him perfectly 
free to act from choice in every thing that he does, what ground 
is there for the complaint, that the purpose of God interferes with 
man's free-agency ? If the evil complained of is not in the execu- 
tion of the purpose, it is certainly not in the purpose itself. 

This objection often comes before us practically. When we are 
called upon for action to which we are averse, the argument pre- 



WILL OF GOD. 105 

sents itself; if God has fore-ordained whatever comes to pass, the 
event is certain ; and what is to be, will be, without our effort. It 
is worthy of remark, that this argument never induces us to deviate 
from a course to which we are inclined. If some pleasure invites, 
we never excuse ourselves from the indulgence, on the plea, that, 
if we are to enjoy it, we shall enjoy it. The fact is sufficient to 
teach us the insincerity of the plea, when admitted in other cases 
It prevails with us only through the deceitfulness of sin ; and, 
however specious the argument may appear, when it coincides with 
our inclinations, we never trust it in any other case. No man in his 
senses remains at ease in a burning dwelling, on the plea, that, if 
he is to escape from the flames, he will escape. The providence 
of God establishes the relation between cause and effect, and gives 
full scope for the influence of the human will. To argue that 
effects will be produced without their appropriate causes, is to deny 
the known arrangement of Providence. He who expects from the 
purpose of God, that which the providence of God denies him, ex- 
pects the purpose to be inconsistent with its own development. 
He charges the plan of the Most Wise, with inconsistency and folly, 
that he may find a subterfuge for criminal indulgence. 

Objection 2. — If God purposed the fall of angels or men, he is 
the author of their sin. 

Before we proceed to answer this objection, it is necessary to 
examine the terms in which it is expressed. In what sense did 
God purpose the fall of angels or men, or any sinful action ? There 
is a sense, familiar to the pious, in which any event that takes 
place, under the overruling providence of God, is attributed to him, 
whatever subordinate agents may have been concerned in effecting 
it. The wind, the lightning, the Chaldeans, the Sabeans, were all 
concerned in the afflictions that fell on the patriarch Job ; but he 
recognised the overruling hand of God in every event, and piously 
exclaimed : " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; 
blessed be the name of the Lord." 1 So Joseph, when sold by his 
brethren in Egypt, saw the hand of God in the event, and ex- 
plained the design of his providence : " For God did send me before 
you to preserve life." 2 In precisely the same sense in which God's 



*Job. i. 21. 2 Gen.xlv. 5. 



106 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

providence is concerned with such events, his purpose is concerned 
with them ; and in no other. 

With this explanation, let us proceed to consider the objection. 
Did Joseph design to charge on God the authorship of his brethrens' 
sin ? Nothing was further from hrs mind. They had been truly 
guilty of their brother's blood ; and their own consciences charged 
them with it. They felt that they were responsible for the sin, 
and Joseph knew the same ; and nothing that he said was designed 
to transfer the responsibility from them to God. Yet he saw 
and delighted to contemplate the purpose of God in the event. 
That purpose was, " to save much people alive." This purpose 
was executed ; and God was the author, both of the purpose and 
the beneficial result. So, in every case, the good which he educes 
out of moral evil, and not the moral evil itself, is the proper object 
of his purpose. It should ever be remembered, that his purpose is 
his intention to act ; and that, strictly speaking, it relates to his 
own action exclusively. It does, indeed, extend to everything that 
is done under the sun, just as the omnipresence of God extends to 
everything ; but it extends to everything, no otherwise than as he 
is concerned with everything ; and what God does, and nothing 
else, is the proper object of his purpose. " He woreeth all things 
after the counsel of his own will." 1 " I will do all my pleasure." 2 
" He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and 
among the inhabitants of the earth." 3 It cannot be too carefully 
noticed, that the purpose of God relates strictly and properly to 
his own actions. Now, God is not the actor of sin, and therefore 
his purpose can never make him the author of it. 

The objection, though it may appear to have greater force when 
applied to the first sin of man, is not, in reality, more applicable to 
this, than to every sin which has been since committed. God made 
Adam, and all his descendants, moral and accountable agents, pre- 
served them in being, and sustained their moral powers ; he per- 
mitted their sin ; and he overrules the evil, from the beginning 
throughout, to effect a most glorious result. In all this, what God 
has done, and is doing, he purposed to do. In all, his action is 
most righteous, wise, and holy ; and, therefore, his purpose is so. 



1 Eph. i. 11. 2 Isaiah xlvi. 10. * Dan. iv. 35. 



WILL OF GOD. 107 

He is the author, not of the moral evil which he permits, bat of 
the good of which he makes it the occasion. 

The distinction between the permission and the authorship of sin 
some have denied ; but, in so doing, they have not the countenance 
of God's word. The whole tenor of the inspired volume leads us 
to regard God as the author of holiness, but not of sin. We are 
taught that in him is no sin ; J that " he is light, and in him is no 
darkness;" 2 that "every good and perfect gift," not sin, " cometh 
down from the Father of lights;" 3 that God is not tempted of 
evil, neither tempteth he any man. 4 In such language we are 
taught to consider God as the author and source of holiness ; and 
it is as contrary to the doctrine of the holy word to attribute sin 
to him, as darkness to the sun. Yet this same word teaches his 
permission of evil. " He suffered all nations to walk in their own 
way." 5 His long-suffering, of which the Scriptures speak so much, 
implies the permission of sin. But of that which is highly dis- 
pleasing to him, even when he bears with it, he cannot be the 
author. 

Objection 3. — If God purposed the final condemnation of the 
wicked, he made them on purpose to damn them. 

This objection, which impiety loves to present in the most repul- 
sive form, it becomes us to approach with profound reverence for 
him whose character and motives it impugns. Let us imagine our- 
selves present at the proceedings of the last day. The righteous 
Judge sits on his great white throne, and all nations are gathered 
before him. The books are opened, and every man is impartially 
judged, according to the deeds done in the body. The award is 
made up, and the sentence pronounced. The wicked are com- 
manded to " depart into the fire prepared for the devil and his 
angels;" and the righteous are welcomed into "the kingdom pre- 
pared for them from the foundation of the world." The scene is 
past, and the mysterious economy of God's forbearance and grace 
is now finally closed. Is there anything in the transactions of that 
day which is unworthy of God ? Is there anything which the holy 
inhabitants of heaven, throughout their immortal existence, can 
ever remember with disapprobation ? Not so. The Judge, while 

1 1 John i. 5. * Ibid. 3 James i. 17. 

* James i. 13. * Acts xiv. 16. 



108 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

he punishes the wicked with everlasting destruction, from the pre- 
sence of the Lord and the glory of his power, is glorified in his 
saints, and admired in all them that believe ; 1 and he will ever ap- 
pear glorious in the decisions of that day. If God's action on that 
day will be so glorious to him, will it be any dishonor to him that 
he has purposed so to act ? 

The idea, were any one disposed seriously to entertain it, that 
God will be taken by surprise at the last judgment, and compelled 
to pass an unpremeditated sentence, is for ever set aside by the 
fact that, as early as the days of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, 
the great day, and especially the fearful doom of the ungodly, 
were foretold. " Behold the Lord cometh, with ten thousand of 
his saints, to execute judgment upon all ; and to convince all that 
are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds." 2 This fact 
also demonstrates that the Lord will not punish for the mere plea- 
sure of punishing. Why does he give warning of that day ? Why 
are his messengers sent to warn men to flee from the wrath to 
come ? Why are these messages delivered with so earnest entreaty 
and expostulation, so that his servants say, " As though God did 
beseech you by us, we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled 
to God." 3 As creatures, formed by his hand, he has not, and can- 
not have, any pleasure in rendering them unhappy ; but, as rebels 
against his authority, enemies to his character and government, and 
the good order of his universal empire, and obstinate rejecters of 
his scheme of mercy and reconciliation, he will take pleasure in 
inflicting on them the punishment which his justice requires. The 
reward of the righteous is a kingdom prepared for them from be- 
fore the foundation of the world ; but the fire into which the wicked 
will be driven, is said to be prepared, not for them, but for the 
devil and his angels. 4 In this significant manner, God has been 
pleased to teach us, that his punishments are prepared, not for his 
creatures, as such, but only for sinners, and in view of sins already 
committed. Must he, to secure himself from disgrace and re- 
proach, be able to plead that he has been taken by surprise, and 
that, from the beginning of the world, he had never expected the 
fearful result? If the proceedings of this great day will be so 
glorious to God that he will regard them with pleasure through all 

« 2 Thes. i. 9, 10. 2 Jude 14, 15. 3 2 Cor. v. 20. * Matt. xxv. 34, 41. 



WILL OF GOD. 109 

future eternity, why may he not have regarded them with pleasure , 
through all eternity past ? 

The objection, originating in dislike of God's justice, wholly mis- 
represents the character of his righteous judgment. It leaps from 
the creation of man to the final doom of the wicked, and wholly 
overlooks the intermediate cause of that doom. It proceeds as if 
sin were a very inconsiderable matter, and as if it must have been 
so regarded by God ; and, therefore, it represents the punishment 
inflicted for it as if inflicted for its own sake. The sentence pro- 
nounced will be, in the judgment of God, for just and sufficient 
cause ; and, in all the purpose of God respecting that sentence, the 
cause has been contemplated. What God does, and why he does 
it, are equally included in the divine purpose ; and this connection 
the objection wholly overlooks. God did not regard sin as a tri- 
fling thing, when, on account of it, he destroyed the old world with 
the flood ; and, as if to answer the very objection now before us, 
and convince men that he did not make them for the pleasure of 
destroying them, it is recorded : " God saw that the wickedness of 
man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the 
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented 
the Lord that he had made man on the earth ; and it grieved him 
at his heart." 1 

Our best judgment decides that the world ought not to have been 
made without a purpose, and that, for its mighty movements now 
to proceed without any purpose, is infinitely undesirable. The best 
work of human hands that we contemplate with any pleasure, has 
been formed with some purpose ; and no intelligent being can view 
the works of God with satisfaction, if he can imagine them to have 
been undertaken and executed without design. Who would not 
grieve to think that this vast machinery is moving to accomplish no 
end ; that the planets are hurled through space wildly, guided in 
their course, and controlled in their velocity, by no wise counsel ; 
that the sun shines, that animals exist, that immortal man lives, 
moves, and has his being, without purpose ? In this view, what an 
enigma is our life ? Our understandings may consent not to com- 
prehend the purpose for which the world was made, but to consent 
that it was made for no purpose, they cannot. Our intelligent 
natures wholly reject the. thought. 

1 Gen. vi. 6, 7. 



110 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

The doctrine of God's purpose, while it recommends itself to our 
understandings, applies a test to the moral principles of our hearts. 
If God has a purpose, we should delight to study it, and rejoice in 
the accomplishment of it ; and our hearts and lives should be regu- 
lated in harmony with it. When we prefer that God should have 
no purpose, or that it should be different from what it is, our hearts 
cannot be right in his sight. If we loved him as we ought, we 
should rejoice in the accomplishment of his will, and view with 
pleasure the unfolding of his grand designs. Holy angels study 
the mystery of redeeming love, and learn, from the dispensations 
toward the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. 1 If right prin- 
ciples prevailed in our hearts, we would not presume to dictate to 
the Infinitely Wise, nor find fault with his plans, but wait with plea- 
sure on the development of his will : and when we cannot see the 
wisdom and goodness of his works, we should, in the simplicity of 
faith, rest assured that his plan, when fully unfolded, will be found 
most righteous and most wise. 



CHAPTER II. 

works of god — creation. 

God created all things out of nothing. 2 

Originally, nothing existed but God ; no matter, out of which 
visible things were formed, and no spiritual substance, out of which 
angels and human souls were made ; but God gave to all things 
that exist their entire being. 

It has been argued that matter cannot be eternal, because self- 
existence is too noble a property to be attributed to an inferior 
nature; but this argument is not satisfactory. Why may not a 
small thing exist without a cause, as well as a greater ? The pro- 
ducing of some particular effect we may conceive to be easier for a 

1 Eph. iii. 10. 

2 Gen. i.; Neh. ix. 6 ; Job ix. 9 ; Ps. lxxxix. 11 ; xcv. 5 ; ciii. 19 ; civ. 4, 19; 
Col. i. 16; Rev. iv. 11; Heb. iii. 4; xi. 3; Acts xvii. 24. 



WORKS OF GOD. Ill 

higher nature than a lower ; but, in self-production, the effect is 
equal to the cause, and the difficulty of producing it must be as 
great for the one nature as for the other. In all such a prion 
reasoning, we are liable to deceive ourselves; and perhaps 
the danger is greatest where the reasoning appears most pro- 
found. For aught that philosophy can teach us, an atom of 
matter is absolutely indestructible ; and, on philosophical princi- 
ples, if it must exist through future eternity, it may have existed 
through past eternity. The miracle of creation is as far beyond 
the demonstrations of philosophy as the miracle of annihilation. 
When we have proved the existence of a God, able to work mira- 
cles, a probability arises that matter may be a production of his 
power, and we may see creative intelligence displayed in the pro- 
perties and quantities of the various kinds of matter, and their 
adaptedness to beneficial purposes. But, for decisive proof that all 
things were made out of nothing, we turn to the word of God, and 
receive it as a truth of faith, rather than of reason. " Through 
faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of 
God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which 
do appear." 1 

In the text just quoted, the doctrine of creation is not expressed 
in the language in which it is most commonly stated. It is not 
said the world was made out of nothing ; but the same idea is ex- 
pressed in a different manner. When we see a statue, we see the 
marble of which it consists ; and when we see a house, we see the 
materials of which it is constructed. Paul teaches that the world 
which we see was not made of the visible substances that we behold, 
t. e., it was not formed of pre-existent matter, but the materials of 
which it now appears to be formed, were brought into existence at 
the time when the things themselves were created. 

The work of creation was performed without effort. God spake, 
and it was done. He said, let there be light, and there was light. 
After working six days, he rested on the seventh ; not because he 
was weary, but that the seventh day might be sanctified, and made 
a day of rest for man. Wherefore it is said, the sabbath was 
made for man. 2 

»Heb. xi. 3. * Mark ii. 27. 



112 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

From an examination of the earth's crust, geologists have dis- 
covered, as tbey think, that animals and plants existed long before 
the Mosaic date of creation. Methods have been proposed to 
reconcile the account, as contained in the first chapter of Genesis, 
with these professed discoveries. Some have supposed each of the 
days of creation to have been a long period of years. The seventh 
day of rest, or cessation from the work of creating, they under- 
stand to have continued to the present time, though nearly six 
thousand years have passed ; and they suppose that each of the 
preceding days may have included an equally long period. Others 
understand "the beginning" mentioned in the first verse of the 
history, to refer to a time long anterior to that referred to in the 
second verse, "the earth was without form, &c." A similar transi- 
tion, though not so sudden, is made in the first chapter of John : 
" In the beginning was the word ; — and the word was made flesh." 1 
Many divines have been disposed to regard the science of geology 
with suspicion, and to consider its deductions as inimical to the 
faith. But there can be no just ground to fear science, in any of 
its departments, so long as it pursues its investigations legitimately, 
and makes its deductions with becoming modesty. The Author of 
the Bible is the maker of the world, and the author of all truth ; 
and his works and his word must harmonize, for truth is always 
consistent. Passages in his word have been thought to be incon- 
sistent with each other ; but a more careful examination has shown 
their harmony, and we need not fear but that due investigation 
will show the word to be consistent with all the legitimate deduc- 
tions of science. 

The undesigned coincidences which have been discovered in the 
Scripture narratives, constitute a highly satisfactory part of the 
internal evidence which the bible contains, that its records are 
true. The proof which these furnish is always the more satisfac- 
tory, the more manifest it is that the coincidence was undesigned. 
When two portions of Scripture, which appeared to disagree with 
each other, have been found, on careful investigation, to be per- 
fectly harmonious, a coincidence has been discovered, that has the 
best possible evidence that it was undesigned. In this way the 
supposed discrepancies, which at first embarrassed us, turn out to 



John i. 1-14. 



WOKKS OF GOD. 113 

the establishment of our faith ; and when some still remain which 
we have not yet learned to harmonize, we are taught to wait 
patiently, with the confident expectation that these dark places 
also will at some time be illuminated. The same faith and patience 
should be exercised when science and Scripture are supposed to 
disagree. The infidel delights to point out apparent discrepancies 
in Scripture, and he exults when he can announce some supposed 
discovery of science inconsistent with the word of revelation. 
While the infidel triumphs, men of weak faith stagger ; but it is 
truly a weak faith that cannot withstand such a shock. We might 
as well doubt whether the sun shines, when his brilliance is eclipsed 
by a passing cloud. The mass of evidence that the Bible is the 
true word of God, is so great that we can well afford to wait till 
the temporary cloud passes, with the confident expectation that the 
light will again shine, perhaps with increased splendor. Geology 
is yet a recent science. What it will do ultimately for the cause 
of truth, future years must decide, and it is unwise to fear the 
result. We may trust that the ark of God will be carried through 
safely. Already, to some extent, the discoveries of the new science 
have turned out to the establishment of the faith. It has pene- 
trated a very small distance below the earth's surface, and, in the 
successive deposits of animal remains, it has found a record from 
which it professes to read the order in which the various species of 
animals came into being. Between this record and that of Moses, 
there is an undesigned coincidence. It is especially remarkable 
that, by the general consent of geologists, human remains are 
found only in the last of the animal deposits. This fact points to 
a time agreeing well with the Mosaic date of creation, when men 
began to exist, and when, of course, a creating power was exerted. 
If geology can establish that, previous to this, a convulsion of 
nature desolated the earth, and buried a whole generation of infe- 
rior animals in its caverns, be it so. We will listen to her argu- 
ments, and weigh them well; but we cannot omit to notice the 
agreement of her facts with the faithful record of inspiration. If 
geology were to carry back the origin of the human race to a date 
long anterior to that of Moses, she would contradict, not. only the 
Bible, but all history, written and traditionary. It cannot be 
accounted for, that our knowledge of ancient history should be 
limited to so recent a period, if the race had previously existed 
8 



114 THE WILL AND WOKKS OF GOD. 

through thousands of generations. The progress in the settlement 
of the world, the establishment of ancient kingdoms, and the 
building of cities, are spread out before us on the pages of history, 
and geology does not contradict the record. 

Although science will never contradict Scripture, it may correct 
erroneous inferences from it, and, in doing this, may incidentally 
demonstrate the wisdom from which the Bible emanated. When 
we have arrived at mature years, we call to mind instructions that 
we received in our childhood from a wise father, and that were 
adapted to the purpose for which they were designed. They did 
not teach the sciences which we have since learned, but they taught 
us nothing contrary ; and we are now able to see, in what was said 
and what was omitted to be said, that the father fully understood 
the sciences, which it was then no part of his design to teach us. 
Had he not understood them, he would have employed other forms 
of speech, and we should be able to recollect some word or words 
that would betray his ignorance. So the false revelations of the 
heathen world contradict science. Some of them contradict the 
very first lessons in geography, and a child in a christian school 
can prove them to be false. But science, in all its advancement, 
though it has made its greatest attainments in the lands where the 
Bible is most known, has found nothing in the Bible to contradict. 
The only rational way to account for this, is to suppose that the 
Author of the Bible understood the sciences. We nowhere read 
in this work that the earth is supported by an elephant, and that 
the elephant stands on a tortoise ; but we read, " He hangeth the 
earth upon nothing," 1 a statement which, made in the very infancy 
of revelation, may satisfy us that the author of the Bible under- 
stood the mechanism of the universe. In a past age of ignorance, 
men supposed that Joshua's command to the sun to stand still, dis- 
proved the Copernican system of astronomy; but this childish 
inference from the language of Scripture, is now well understood 
to be unwarranted. Men of science, who firmly believe the 
Copernican system, speak as freely of the sun rising and the sun 
setting, as those who never have heard that these appearances are 
owing to the earth's rotation. Future science may teach us to 
correct other erroneous inferences which many have drawn from 

1 Job xxvi. 7. 



WORKS OF GOD. 115 

the Scripture ; and we should be content to learn. The result 
will give further proof that the Author of Nature is the author of 
the Bible. 

Our hearts receive a strong impression of the power, wisdom 
and goodness of the Lord, when we dwell on the thought that 
he made the heavens and the earth, with all that they contain. 
Above all, when we reflect that he made us, and not we ourselves, 
we are constrained to acknowledge his right to require what 
service, praise and glory we are capable of rendering. He is the 
former of our bodies, and the father of our spirits ; and shall we 
not render to him that which is his own ? Shall we not serve and 
glorify him with our bodies and our spirits, which are his ? His 
right, by virtue of redemption, may present stronger claims, but 
his right by virtue of creation, is sufficient to establish our obliga- 
tion, and we ought to recognise its force. 



CHAPTER III. 

WORKS OF GOD. — PROVIDENCE. 

Let us approach nearer to the object of our supreme love. Such 
a being as God would be worthy of our hearts' best affection, if we 
were wholly under the dominion of another Lord, and owed our 
existence to another creative power. Like the Queen of Sheba, 
when she heard of the wisdom and glory of Solomon, we might, 
with great propriety, desire to visit the remote palace of Jehovah, 
that we might learn his character, and the arrangements of his 
empire. If God, after creating the world, had left the manage- 
ment of it in other hands, and had withdrawn to employ himself 
in other works, our inquiries might well follow him, and we might 
laudably seek to know our Creator. But God is not far from us. 
He did not, on making the world, leave it to itself, or commit it 
into other hands ; but it is an object of his constant care, and his 
hand is concerned in all its movements. Whether we look on the 
right hand, or on the left, we can see where he doth work ; and, in 
the display of his wisdom, power, and goodness, which at every 
moment meets our eyes, we find continued incitements to adore and 
love. 



116 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

God's care of his creation, is termed Providence ; and includes 
Preservation and Government. 

Section I. — PRE SERV ATION. 

All created things are kept in being by the will and 
power of God. 1 

We can as little understand the act of Providence, as that of 
creation ; but we know that both are acts of God, implying both 
his will and power. That a continued preserving act is necessary 
to keep his creatures in being, ought not to be doubted. The ex- 
pression, "upholding all things," 2 clearly denotes such an act. 
An architect may build a house, which, when once completed, may 
stand, independent of his labor and skill, a monument of both, when 
he has fallen by the hand of death; and we are prone to con- 
ceive that the work of God might equally stand, if left to itself, 
without his constant care and support. But the cases are widely 
different. The human architect finds the materials which he uses 
already in existence ; and his whole work consists in changing their 
form, and combining them in a new order. The substances used 
did not receive their existence from him; and the independent 
being which they possessed before the architect touched them, they 
retain after his hand has been withdrawn. But the very substance, 
as well as the form, of all created things, came from the hand of 
God; and the withdrawal of that hand would leave their being 
unsupported, or the expression, "upholding all things, ,, has no 
appropriate meaning. 

Many have maintained that the preserving act not only has the 
same author as the creating act, but is identical with it. They 
consider it philosophically true that preservation is a perpetual 
creation. All created existence is conceived to terminate at every 
moment by its natural tendency to annihilation, and to be repro- 
duced by a new creative act. But, notwithstanding the ingenious 
arguments which have been advanced in support of this opinion, 
philosophy perseveres in distinguishing between the two acts, re- 
garding creation as miraculous, and preservation, as conformed to 

i Job i.2l; v. 18; Ps. xxxiii. 10-15 ; ciii. 3-5, 10; civ. 27-30; exxvii. i, 2; 
Prov. xvi. 9 ; Matt. v. 45 ; x. Zo ; Luke xii. 6 ; Acts xvii. 28. 
8 Heb. i. 3. 



WORKS OF GOD. 117 

the laws of nature. We are prone to conceive, that, to bring from 
non-existence into existence, differs from the preservation of ex- 
istence already bestowed. It is enough, for every practical pur 
pose, to attribute the preservation of all things to the power and 
will of the same being that originally created them. At his will, 
the world came into existence ; and, at his will, it continues to 
exist. 

Section II. — GO VERNMENT IN GENERAL. 

All created things are so under God's control, that 
their changes take place according to his purpose. 1 

Created things are perpetually operating on each other in the 
relation of cause and effect. The properties and powers by which 
they so operate, were given to each of them in their creation, and 
are continued in the act of preservation. It follows, therefore, 
that all created things operate on each other, and produce changes 
in each other, by the will and power of God. If they are dependent 
for their existence, they must be, for their properties and powers, 
and, of consequence, for their operations. 

God's control over all events that happen, is abundantly taught 
in the Scriptures ; which represent the wind, 2 the rain, 3 pestilence,* 
plenty, 5 grass, 6 the fowls of the air, 7 the hairs of the head, 8 &c, 
as objects of his providence. 

The Scriptures not only attribute events to the overruling hand 
of God, but they represent him as ordering them for the ac- 
complishment of some purpose. The grass grows, that it may give 
food. 9 Pestilence is sent, that men may be punished for their sins. 10 
Joseph was sent into Egypt, to preserve much people alive. 11 Nor 
are there a few events only which are so ordered ; but it is said, 
He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. The 
declaration, "All things work together for good," 12 &c, could not 
be true, if God's control were not alike extended to all events, 
causing them all to co-operate in the fulfilment of his purpose. 

Some persons are unwilling to attribute to God the care and 

12 Chron. xx. 6; Ps. civ. 4, 7, 10, 13, 14, 19, 32; Prov. xvi. 9; Ps. lxxvi. 
10; Dan. iv. 35; Rom. viii. 28; Eph. i. 11. 
2 Jonah iv. 8. s Matt. v. 45. 4 Lev. xxvi. 25. 5 Gen. xxvii. 28. 

6 Matt. vi. 30. ' Matt. vi. 26. 8 Matt. x. 30. 9 Ps. civ. 14. 

»2 Sam. xxiv. 15. " Gen. xlv. 7. 12 Rom. viii. 28. 



118 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

management of minute and unimportant events. They consider it 
beneath his dignity to he concerned about such trivial matters. 
They believe in a General Providence over the affairs of the world, 
exercised by general laws ; but a Particular Providence, exercised 
over every particular incident of every man's life, enters not into 
their creed. But the Scriptures are plain on this subject. The 
fall of a sparrow is a very trivial event, yet it is affirmed by the 
teacher from heaven, to be not without our heavenly Father. 1 If 
great events happen according to general laws, it is equally true 
of small ones ; and the operation of these laws, in the latter case, 
must be as well understood, and as perfectly controlled, as in the 
former. Moreover, it often happens, that very important events 
depend on others that are in themselves trivial and unimportant. 
The King of Israel was slain, 2 and God's prophecy concerning him 
was fulfilled, by an arrow shot at a venture. How many very 
minute circumstances must have concurred in this act ! That the 
arrow was shot at all — that it was then shot — that it was precisely 
so directed, and with precisely the necessary force — and that it 
met no obstacle on its way: all these concurred, and all these 
must have been under the control of Him, in whose hand was the 
life of the king. As God's greatness permitted him to create the 
minutest of his works, so it permits him to take care of them ; and 
this care is as easy and undistracting to him, as if his whole energy 
were directed to the care and benefit of a single man or angel. 

The objects of God's Providence are all created things, animate 
and inanimate, rational and irrational. Some of these, as angels 
and men, are moral agents. All others, viewed as causing change 
of any kind, may be classed together as natural agents. With 
reference to this division of the agencies under his control, the 
government of God may be divided into natural and moral. 

Section III. — NATURAL GOVERNMENT. 

Among our earliest lessons, we learn that the relation of cause 
and effect exists, and that events occur because of this relation in 
an established order of sequence. Were the order of succession 
not established, or were we ignorant of it, we should be unable to 

1 Matt. x. 29. 2 1 Kings xxii. 34. 



WORKS OF GOD. 119 

manage the most common concerns of life. If food sometimes 
nourished, and sometimes poisoned, or if we were incapable of 
learning whether the nutritive quality belonged to bread, or to 
arsenic, we should be unable to regulate the process of eating, so 
necessary to the preservation of life. But our Creator has made 
us capable of observing the sequences of nature, and of learning 
the order in which they occur, and the relation of cause and effect, 
which the parts of the succession sustain to each other. The study 
of these sequences is the business of philosophy ; but philosophy 
is not confined to the university, or the lecture-room. It is found 
in every man's walk, and in the every-day experience of life. The 
child begins to learn it in the cradle ; and without some knowledge 
of it, men would not know how to shun the flood, the flames, or the 
precipice. 

In all departments of knowledge we classify the things known ; 
and the sequences of nature, classified, become what we call laws 
of nature. These are only the regular modes in which the sequences 
of nature occur. In the phrase, law of nature, the term law is 
used in a transferred sense. When employed in morals, it implies 
an authority commanding, and a subject bound to obey. But na- 
ture is not a being possessing authority ; and natural things are 
not capable of obedience in the proper sense. In morals, laws 
given may be disobeyed ; but the processes of nature always con- 
form to what are called the laws of nature. The laws of nature 
may be regarded as the modes in which the providence of God 
operates. His will has determined the relation of cause and effect ; 
and, therefore, the laws of nature are the orders of sequence, in 
which it is his will, that the changes of natural things should occur. 

When we contemplate the order which prevails in the natural 
world, we behold the exhibition of the wisdom which God's provi- 
dence displays. His natural government, as well as his moral, 
abounds with wisdom. All his reasons for planning the system of 
things precisely as it is we cannot presume to understand ; but the 
advantage resulting from its order meets us in every experience of 
life. It would be to no purpose that we have been so made as to 
be capable of observing the sequences of nature, if these. sequences 
took place without order. If chaos reigned in the succession of 
events, philosophy would be impossible, and equally impossible the 
most common arts of life. Reason would be an unavailing gift ; 



120 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

and, if human life were not filled with perpetual terror, the exemp- 
tion would arise rather from inability to comprehend its danger, 
than from the circumstances of its situation. 

Section IV. — MORAL GOVERNMENT. 

A voluntary agent, with a sense of right and wrong, we call a 
moral agent. Such an agent is a proper subject of moral law. 
He may be commanded, and he can obey or disobey. He can feel 
the force of moral obligation, and be affected by self-approbation 
or remorse. 

Moral law is not an established order of sequence, as the laws 
of nature are. Some have sought to find an agreement between 
them in this particular, by referring to the fact, that a moral action 
has consequences inseparably connected with it, which result from 
its moral quality. But the connection of these consequences with 
the moral action belongs rather to the class of natural sequences. 
Like other natural sequences, the order is inviolable. But moral 
law may be violated. The order of sequence which moral law aims 
to regulate, is that which subsists between the command and the 
action, not between the action and its consequences. In the first 
of these sequences, not in the last, the obedience or disobedience 
of moral law appears. If moral law were an established order of 
sequence, as natural law is, none but God could violate it, as none 
but he can work miracles. But, while God cannot commit sin, 
which is a transgression of moral law, it may be committed by 
angels and men, as sad experience has proved. 

The distinction which has been drawn between natural and 
moral law must be kept in view, to understand the difference be- 
tween natural and moral government. Moral government is a de- 
partment of God's universal administration, specially adapted to 
moral agents, furnishing scope for the exercise of their moral 
agency, as, also, on God's part, for the exercise of his justice. It 
is not inconsistent with the rest of his administration, but is dis- 
tinct from the rest, and is the holy of holies, in which the great 
Supreme manifests his highest glory. It is true, that in this the 
will of God is not invariably done ; whereas, in his natural govern- 
ment, he worketh all things after the counsel of his will ; but it 
must be remembered that the term will is used in different senses. 
The will which is violated in moral government is the will of pre- 



WORKS OF GOD. 121 

cept ; that which is invariably executed in natural government is 
the will of purpose. The whole of God's moral government per- 
fectly accords with his purpose. It was his purpose to institute it ; 
to create moral agents, to give them a moral law, a will of precept, 
which they, as free agents, might violate or not ; to permit the vio- 
lation, and to hold them responsible for it. All this God pur- 
posed, and all this he has accomplished. Because the term will is 
used in two senses, manifestly distinct from each other, it becomes 
necessary, in our use of it, to keep the distinction in view, lest our 
reasonings be confused. 

The general proposition, under the head of Government, page 
117, was stated thus: "All God's creatures are so under his con- 
trol, that their changes take place according to his purpose." The 
truth of this, with respect to his natural government, will be rea- 
dily admitted. An important part of the changes which take place 
in the world, consists of the actions performed by moral agents. 
In applying the proposition to these, it becomes necessary to dis- 
tinguish between the efficient and permissive purpose of God. 
Even the most sinful action cannot take place without his permis- 
sion ; and, in this view, the proposition extends to the moral, as 
well as to the natural government of God. 

Section V. — FREE AGENCY. 

What is free agency? If it signifies freedom from accounta- 
bility to a higher power, there is no free agent but God. This, 
however, is not the sense in which the term is technically employed, 
and in which it denotes voluntary agency — agency without com- 
pulsion. 

A creature who acts voluntarily, and knows the difference be- 
tween right and wrong, is a proper subject of moral government. 
The common sense of mankind holds such an one accountable for 
his actions. We do not enter into a metaphysical inquiry to ascer- 
tain by what mental process the volition was formed; but it is 
enough for us to know that it was formed. If a man does what he 
did not intend to do, we admit the plea of involuntariness ; but, 
when the intention to perpetrate the deed is proved, together with 
the knowledge of its criminality, no metaphysical subtleties exempt 
him, in the uniform judgment of mankind, from being held ac- 
countable. 



122 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

Some have maintained that, in order to responsible agency, it is 
necessary that the will should have a self-determining power. It 
is, they maintain, not only necessary that the agent should have 
acted voluntarily, but he should have the power to will otherwise 
than he did. That he should have had the power to act otherwise 
than he did, is implied in his acting voluntarily, i. e. without com- 
pulsion, and is, therefore, necessary to his accountability ; but the 
power to will otherwise than he did, is a superaddition to volunta- 
riness, which the common sense of mankind does not inquire into ; 
yet, as a metaphysical perplexity, it claims our attention. 

Self-determining power of the will. — It is inconsistent with philo- 
sophical accuracy to speak of the will as determining or deciding. 
The faculties of the mind are not distinct agents, possessing a 
separate existence from the mind itself. We may say that a man 
understands or wills, or that his mind understands or wills ; but to 
say that his understanding understands, or his will wills, is bad 
philosophy. If it be conceived that the will determines itself, as 
the magnetic needle determines its position, without reasoning, and 
without choice, a supposition is admitted which will not at all accord 
with the views of those who advocate the self-determining power 
of the will. But, if it be conceived that the will determines by 
choice, or any other mental process, then the will is represented as 
a distinct agent, having a mind of its own. 

Power of the will — Here is another incongruity. In the exter- 
nal acts of men, power and will are concomitants necessary to the 
act. Without either, the act cannot be. But to an act of willing, 
what is necessary besides the will itself? What power must be 
conjoined with it ? What a supposition it would be, that the will 
has a will to put forth a volition, but has not the power ! Yet 
something like this must be conceived, to give a distinct and intel- 
ligible meaning to the phrase, " self-determining power of the will." 

Section VI. — MORAL NECESSITY. 

If a number of dice be put into a box and thrown out on a table, 
it is certain that every one will take some position, and will lie on 
some one of its six sides ; but no one can foretell what the several 
positions will be, or on which of the six sides each one will lie. 
These positions are attributed to chance ; and, in a calculation of 
chances, this case may be adduced as an appropriate example. But 



WORKS OF GOD. 123 

though no one will undertake to foretell what position each die will 
assume, yet every one believes that all its motion, till its final 
position is assumed, is in accordance with the laws of nature, and 
that the fall from the box is not more determined by these laws 
than the final position. A mind which could go through the calcu- 
lation, and estimate the precise effect of the forces applied, from 
the beginning to the end, on each die, from the position in which 
it started, might determine the result with as much certainty as the 
astronomer feels in computing an eclipse. The position of the die 
is not more the effect of chance than the occurrence of the eclipse. 
Chance is, in this case at least, a relative term — having reference 
to our ignorance. 

That a large part of the events which we esteem contingent are 
so merely with reference to our ignorance, everybody will admit ; 
but it is still a question, whether there is any absolute contingency 
in the world. Are there any events which occur that do not con- 
form to an established order of sequence ? 

The doctrine of necessity denies the existence of absolute contin- 
gency, and maintains that the relation of cause and effect, with its 
established order of sequence, is not only general, but universal. 
In opposition to this doctrine, many maintain that human actions 
do not conform to an established order of sequence; and it is 
argued that such conformity would render man a mere machine, 
moving as he is moved, and, therefore, not accountable for his 
actions. To this argument it is replied, that the doctrine fully 
admits the distinction between man as a living, thinking, willing, 
and moral being, and a mere machine, which neither lives nor 
thinks ; and that this difference is the foundation of his accounta- 
bility. It is argued, that if his actions did not follow from his voli- 
tions, by an established order of sequence, they would not be 
voluntary, and he would not be accountable for them. The vali- 
dity of this argument, so far as it goes,, probably no one will deny ; 
and the question becomes narrowed down to this : Do human voli- 
tions occur as effects of antecedent causes, in an established order 
of sequence ? The question is one of great difficulty ; and, though 
the minds of the ablest reasoners have been employed on it, no 
solution has been reached that gives general satisfaction. The 
very difficulty of it may satisfy us that our benevolent Creator has 
not made the solution of it necessary, either to our faith or our 



124 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

duty ; and we might leave the puzzling investigation to those pow- 
erful minds that are best fitted to grapple with such abstrusities, 
were it not that the subject is intruding itself into the minds of all 
inquirers, and, to some extent, affecting their theological opinions. 
It is, therefore, desirable to ascertain, if possible, wherein the 
difficulty of the subject consists, and how far it is connected with 
our faith or practice. 

Analogy favors the doctrine of necessity. A regular order of 
sequence is admitted to exist throughout the material world. It is 
admitted to exist also, to some extent, in the operations of the 
human mind. Impressions on the organs of sense produce their 
appropriate sensations in the mind, according to fixed laws. Per- 
ceptions follow, and judgments, and trains of reasoning, all of 
which so far conform to fixed laws, that the order of their succes- 
sion is studied with a view to find out these laws ; and the science 
of mental philosophy proceeds on the supposition that such laws 
exist, and employs itself in finding them out. The train of mental 
operations, beginning with the sensation which immediately follow? 
the impression on the organs of sense, terminates with the volitior 
which immediately precedes muscular action. A regular order oi 
sequence may be traced from the first, through much of the mental 
process that is moving on toward the ultimate volition. Thence 
onward we again espy the line of succession in the action which 
follows, and in all its effects. At most, but a few links only in the 
chain can be wanting; and analogy favours the conclusion that 
these are not absent, but that they exist even if we cannot trace 
them. 

An argument for the doctrine of necessity may be drawn from 
the fact that human volitions are every day made a subject of cal- 
culation. A man who would not attempt to calculate the position 
which a thrown die will assume, will judge what a known individual 
will determine to do in given circumstances ; and so much does he 
rely on the correctness of his calculation, that he will be governed 
by it in some of his most important concerns. It is thus that a 
sagacious general often anticipates the movements of his enemy. 
All this would be impossible if the sequences of human volitions 
were wild and lawless. 

The doctrine of necessity has been argued from God's fore- 
knowledge. The more sagacious any one is, the more successfully 



WORKS OF GOD. 125 

he can judge beforehand what a known individual will do in 
given circumstances. As a wise man may foreknow, much more 
can the all-wise God. If all events are contained in their causes, 
and are to be developed in due time, in conformity to an established 
order of sequence, we can conceive that the Omniscient One sees 
these events in their causes, and foreknows their future develop- 
ment with infallible certainty. On the other hand, if there is 
absolute contingency in the world, it is out of our power to con 
ceive how even God himself can foreknow it, and it is alleged 
that he may be disappointed, and perhaps defeated in some of his 
plans by its occurrence. 

The leading arguments against the doctrine are, that it is incon- 
consistent with the free agency of man, and that it makes God the 
author of sin. 

It is argued that the doctrine is inconsistent with the free 
agency of man. While we see the material world moving around 
us in obedience to the laws of nature, we are conscious that our 
acts are not directed by such a necessity. We choose every day 
which of two courses we will take, and the very choice, of which 
we are conscious, implies the power to take either. The faculty 
of choosing would be possessed in vain, if we were restricted to one 
of the courses by invincible necessity. There is no free agency 
where an individual is bound to one way, and can take no other. 

To this the advocates of necessity reply, the freedom of our 
actions, of which consciousness testifies, is fully admitted in their 
doctrine. Freedom of action consists in doing what we please. 
Compulsion to act against our will is physical necessity. The 
moral necessity which is contended for, respects, not the relation 
of the volition to the subsequent action, but its relation to ante- 
cedent causes. When a man's volitions are known to be deter- 
mined by strong ruling principles of action, it is maintained that 
his free agency is as perfect as if they were the result of long 
continued deliberation, or proceeded from no known cause. While 
we are conscious that we act from choice, and are therefore free 
agents, we are equally conscious that our choice itself is, in many 
cases, determined instantly and firmly by strong ruling principles ; 
and that this fact, instead of detracting from the free agency and 
virtue of our deeds, is our highest praise. 

It is further argued, that the doctrine makes God the author of 



126 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

sin. The laws of nature, in the material world, are viewed as 
God's mode of operation. If the sun shines, and the rain descends, 
it is God who gives light to his creatures, and fertilizes the ground 
for their benefit; and when storms rage, and hurricanes sweep 
over the land, these, arising according to the laws of nature which 
he has established, are still regarded as God's operation. In 
every case the cause of the cause is the cause of the effect. If 
fixed laws govern with like necessity in the department of morals, 
it is argued that God must be viewed as the author of all that 
happens in obedience to these laws. Having himself established 
them, and created the causes which contain all the effects to be 
developed in the established order of sequence, he is as truly the 
author of these effects as if they proceeded immediately from 
his hand. It can no longer be said that sin has place by his per- 
mission, any more than it can be said that a storm arises by his 
permission. Even sin must, like the storm, be viewed as God 
operating. This is the argument which the advocates of necessity 
find it most difficult to answer. 

The philosophical arguments on this question appear to me to 
preponderate on the side of necessity. Indeed, how philosophy 
could decide against it, cannot well be conceived. She begins her 
investigations with the assumption that laws of nature do exist, 
and she makes it her business to find out what these laws are. If 
she observes any events that do not conform to known laws, she 
still assumes that there is a law which governs them, and she 
renews her effort to find it out. Hence, for philosophy to decide 
that there are events which conform to no law, would be to abandon 
the foundation on which she has ever stood. If such events ever 
occur, they belong to a department of nature which is beyond the 
walks of philosophy. 

As a theological question, the doctrine of necessity is seriously 
embarrassed by the difficulty respecting the authorship of sin. 
The whole subject of God's providence over sin, is exceedingly 
difficult. A future section will be devoted to the consideration 
of it. 

Truth, whether ascertained by philosophy or theology, must be 
consistent with itself. But it ought to be remembered, that the tests 
by which philosophy ascertains truth, are unequal to those which 
theology applies. Philosophy allows conclusions to be drawn from 



WORKS OF GOD. 127 

an induction of particulars, which is unavoidably incomplete. As 
far as our individual observation has extended, gravitation is found 
at every part of the earth's surface. From the testimony of others, 
we know that it exists wherever human foot has trodden. This 
induction is sufficient for philosophy, and she draws her conclusion 
that gravitation exists at every part of the earth's surface, even in 
the regions denied to the habitation or approach of men. If some 
voyagers should testify that, on a certain island in the Pacific, 
gravitation ceases to operate at the distance of ten feet above the 
earth's surface, the announcement, if deemed worthy of credence, 
would startle the whole race of philosophers, who would hasten to 
institute the experiments necessary to determine the truth or false- 
hood of the strange report. Should it be found, on trial, that all 
bodies thrown ten feet into the air, on that island, go off into un- 
known space, philosophers would inquire into the cause of this 
phenomenon, that is, would endeavor to find a law to which it con- 
forms. Thus philosophy often finds it necessary to rectify her 
previous conclusions, because these were formed from an incom- 
plete induction of particulars. To Siamese philosophy, it was 
impossible for water to become solid, so as to bear up carriages of 
burden. So, much of our wisest philosophy may be the erroneous 
conclusions of our ignorance. God's knowledge is perfect, and with 
him mistake is impossible. If human testimony can suffice to 
rectify a conclusion of philosophy, much more ought the testimony 
of God to be sufficient. A "thus saith the Lord," is a better 
foundation for faith than all the deductions of human philosophy, 
and then only is faith divine, when it stands on this foundation. 

Let us imagine all created things to have been brought into being, 
and left, for a time, in a wild state, before the laws of nature were 
enacted. In this chaos, the atoms would not regard the very first 
law of philosophy, which enjoins that matter at rest shall continue 
at rest ; and, when put in motion, shall move forward in a right 
line with uniform velocity. All the affinities and elective attrac- 
tions, now so familiar to the chemist, would be unknown to the 
various species of matter, and unobserved by them. Particles 
would dance and rest alternately in the most capricious manner. 
They would attract each other for a time, and then repel with un- 
accountable inconstancy. They would remain for a period in close 
embrace, and then divorce each other with the changeableness of 



128 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

fickle lovers. If, when the fiat of Jehovah reduced this confusion 
to order by subjecting all the movements to regular laws, it was 
his pleasure to except some little region of his vast empire from 
the operation of these laws, what can philosophy say against it ? 
If such- exception was made, it was doubtless made for wise reasons ; 
perhaps to show to his celestial school of intelligences the benefit 
of order by retaining a memorial of the ancient chaos ; as the 
manna was laid up in the ark for the benefit of the Israelites. If 
such a region was permitted to remain, it was doubtless so bounded 
and shut in, that its lawless confusion cannot disturb the order of 
the universal empire. Now, if it should be discovered that the link 
of connection between volition and the cause or causes antecedent, 
is the place, and the only place that God has left without law, 
philosophy must be dumb. If God says that it is so, we are bound 
to believe it ; and we may infer that he so keeps this lawless con- 
nection under control, that it shall not subvert his government. 

If the views which have been presented are correct, the follow- 
ing conclusions may be considered established : — 1. The doctrine 
of moral necessity is not inconsistent with the free-agency and ac- 
countability of man. 2. The doctrine cannot be disproved by 
human philosophy. 3. "We ought not to admit any inference from 
it as an article of faith, unless it be supported by the authority of 
the Holy Scriptures. 

Section VII. — DESIGNS OF PROVIDENCE. 

In the view which we have taken of God's providential govern 
ment, we have included the fact, that he so orders the events which 
occur, as to accomplish his purpose. This is called predestination. 
The purpose of God respects the end which he has in view ; and 
also the means which he uses for the accomplishment of this end. 

The doctrine of predestination teaches that no event comes to 
pass, which is not under the control of God ; and that it is so 
ordered by him as to fulfil his purpose. If it would thwart his 
purpose, the event is prevented ; or if, in part only it would con- 
duce to his purpose, only so far is it permitted to happen. This 
divine control extends over all agents, animate and inanimate, 
rational and irrational ; and is exercised over each in perfect ac- 
cordance with its nature, and with all the laws of nature as origi- 
nally established. Physical agents are controlled as physical 



WORKS OF GOD. 12^ 

agents ; and moral, as moral agents. The latter act as freely as 
if no providence over them existed. Their ends are chosen, their 
means adopted, and their accountability exists, just as if there were 
no predestination of God in the matter. Yet God is not uncon- 
cerned in any of these acts, but overrules each and all of them 
according to his pleasure. 

The holy men of ancient times were accustomed to view the hand 
of God in everything with which they had to do ; and the passages 
of Scripture are numerous, in which God's direction of man's affairs 
and actions is taught. " A man's heart deviseth his way ; but the 
Lord directeth his steps." 1 " The king's heart is in the hands of 
the Lord, as the rivers of water ; he turneth it whithersoever he 
will." 2 The gardener has his rivulet, with which he waters his 
beds ; and, by cutting a channel here, and damming up there, he 
directs the fertilizing stream to whatever part of his garden he 
pleases ; while the water, however directed, moves according to its 
own natural tendency. So the king's heart moves according to 
its own inclination ; but the directing hand of God guides his move- 
ments, though freely made, to the accomplishment of such ends as 
infinite wisdom has designed. The passages are also numerous, 
which show that this direction of events is for the accomplishment 
of some purpose. God meant it unto good. 3 All things work to- 
gether for good. 4 Each particular event accomplishes some pur- 
pose ; and the whole combined accomplishes the grand purpose, to 
which the particular purposes are subordinate. So he who builds a 
house, has, in adjusting each timber, a purpose subordinate to the 
general or final purpose for which the whole work was undertaken ; 
and, to the accomplishment of which, the whole is directed. 

The possibility that God should possess this complete control of 
all things, cannot be doubted by any who admit the doctrine of 
necessity. Even if human volitions are absolutely contingent, his 
control of overt acts must be conceived to be as perfect, a§ on the 
other hypothesis. As length and breadth are necessary to consti- 
tute area, as weight and velocity are necessary to constitute force ; 
so volition and power are necessary to constitute action. He does 
not act, who has the will without the power, or the power without 
the will. Now, the power is in the hand of God, and under his 

* Prov. xvi. 9. 2 Prov. xxi. 1. 3 Gen. 1. 20. 4 Rom. viii. 28. 

9 



130 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

perfect control ; and, therefore, whatever the will may be, no overt 
act can be performed but by his permission ; and consequently, no 
influence can be brought to bear on any part of God's dominions, 
so as to disturb his administration. This hook God has in the nose 
of every rebellious subject ; so that, however filled with rage, he 
cannot move but by God's permission. 1 

Again, even if human volition is absolutely contingent, it is still 
true, that men often fortell it with sufficient certainty or probability, 
to know how to direct their actions with respect to it. A sagacious 
sovereign knows the character of his subjects, and the parties which 
exist in his government ; and he adapts the measures of his admin- 
istration to meet the exigencies as they arise. Why cannot God, 
on the throne of the universe, manage the affairs of his govern- 
ment with equal skill ? A human sovereign sometimes fails for 
want of time to deliberate. His enemies form their schemes, and 
their plots proceed to their accomplishment before he is aware of 
their designs ; and, when they are discovered, he cannot command 
his resources, or digest his plan, in time to meet the emergency. 
But God sees every budding volition ; and, as all his power may 
be exerted at any point of space^ so all the resources of his infinite 
wisdom can arrange his plan, while the volition is taking its form 
as wisely and completely as if it were the result of an eternity of 
deliberation. God is verily able to govern the world ; and who 
doubts that he is willing ? And our belief that God governs the 
world, and predestinates its various events to accomplish the counsel 
of his will, is not dependent on a metaphysical speculation. 

Section VIII. -PROVIDENCE OVER SIN. 

Providence has been explained to be the care which God exer- 
cises over the world. Though this care is watchful and kind, sin 
has entered, bringing innumerable evils in its train, and is now 
mingling in the whole current of human enjoyment, and spreading 
havoc and death, where peace, order, life, and happiness, would 
have reigned undisturbed. How all this comes to pass, under the 
government of a God, infinitely wise, powerful, and good, is a 
question of great difficulty. The observations which follow, will 
not clear away the darkness in which the subject is involved ; but 

» 2 Kings xix. 28. 



WORKS OF GOD. 131 

they may suffice to assist our faith, and guard our hearts from un- 
worthy thoughts of the deity. 

1. The fact of God's providence over sin, is incontrovertible, what- 
ever difficulties attend its explanation. If there were anything 
from which he would stand aloof, it would be sin, the abominable 
thing which he hates ; but nothing so clearly shows his providence 
to be universal as the abundant proof which is furnished, that it 
extends over sin. Indeed, if it kept at a distance from everything 
sinful, it would abandon all human affairs, which are thoroughly 
mixed with sin. The Scriptures speak, in very clear and strong 
terms, of God's control over sinful agents. He brought the Chal- 
deans against Jerusalem, 1 and stirred up the Medes against Baby- 
lon. 2 These were nations composed of wicked men, and could not 
have been moved by the providence of God, if wicked agents were 
not under his control. Wicked men are called the rod, the staff, 
the ax, the saw, in his hand ; 3 and are therefore moved by him as 
these instruments are, by the hand of him who uses them. The 
Scriptures descend with still greater particularity to the very acts 
of wicked agents, in which their wickedness is exhibited, and attri- 
butes these to God. So Shimei's cursing of David 4 and Absalom's 
lying with his father's wives; 5 wicked as these acts were, are, in 
the words of inspiration, ascribed to the God of holiness. Why is 
this, if it be not designed to teach us that the providence of God 
extends over sinful actions. So strong are some of the represen- 
tations contained in the holy word, that, like the ascribing of re- 
pentance to God, they need to be explained by the general tenor 
of the sacred teachings. He blinds the eyes, 6 and hardens the 
hearts 7 of sinful men; and sends them strong delusions, 8 that they 
should believe a lie, and be damned ; and he raised up 9 Pharoah, 
and hardened his heart, 30 that he might show his power in him. 
Such language was certainly designed to make a strong impression 
jn our minds, that God exercises a perfect control over every sinful 
agent in all his acts ; and it is not more clearly revealed, that God 
hates the wicked acts of wicked men, than that he controls and 
directs them to the accomplishment of his purpose. All this we are 

1 Hab. i. 6. z Isaiah xiii. 17 ; Jer. li. 11. 3 Isaiah x. 5-15. 

* 2 Sam. xvi. 11. 5 2 Sam. xii. 12. 6 John xii. 40. 7 Rom. ix. 18. 
8 2 Thess. ii. 11. 9 Ex. ix. 16. ,0 Ex. vii. 13. 



132 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

bound to believe, whatever mystery may attend it ; and what we 
know concerning any subject, is not the less true, or the less firmly 
to be believed, because there are other things involved in it which 
we know not. 

2. What we know not concerning God's providence over sin, 
respects him rather than ourselves ; and we may, therefore, safely 
leave it for him to interpret. How to govern a world of sinful 
agents, is a problem which it is not necessary for us to solve, as the 
task has not been assigned us. Had God imposed the duty on us, 
he would doubtless have taught us how to perform it. But he has 
reserved it to himself ; and he giveth no account of his matters. 
Instead, therefore, of being surprised that there are things in God's 
government which are inscrutable to us, we should have reason for 
surprise if it were otherwise. Earthly governments have their 
secrets, and these may especially relate to the management of the 
hostile. We must, without taking offence, permit the Sovereign 
Ruler of all to have his secrets, and to make known his ways only 
so far as he pleases. We are often, in appearance at least, exceed- 
ingly anxious to relieve the character of God from foul aspersions ; 
but we may safely leave him to vindicate himself. We shall do 
well to look to it, that our very officiousness does not betray an 
unwillingness to repose entire confidence in the wisdom and good- 
ness of his ways, when they are past our comprehension. Let the 
very darkness in which he leaves them be improved by us to the 
trial and strengthening of our faith. 

3. The distinction between God's permission of sin, and his being 
the efficient cause of it, is one which we appear authorized to use 
to free our thoughts from embarrassment when we contemplate this 
subject. More than mere permission is implied in many of the ex- 
pressions found in Scripture, that refer to the influence by which 
the current of sinful propensity is directed into this channel, rather 
than that. But the notion that God is the efficient agent in pro- 
ducing the sinful propensity, we are unable to reconcile with our 
ideas of his character ; and it does not appear to be taught in the 
sacred volume. God is a sun, and moral darkness arises from the 
absence, rather than from the presence of his beams. We dare 
not doubt that, had it been his pleasure, he might have poured forth 
such a flood of holy influence from himself as would have effectu- 
ally preserved the human race from all possibility of defilement ; 



WORKS OF GOD. 133 

and, that he did not do so, is his permission of sm. But every one 
readily conceives of this as very different from a positive efficiency 
in the production of moral evil. It is a good maxim, to consider 
all our good as coming from God, and give him the praise of it ; 
and all our evil as our own, and give ourselves the hlame of it. In 
like manner, when we see sin in others, and know that God is over- 
ruling it for good, we can blame them for the evil, and praise God 
for the good which he educes from it. 

4. "We should restrain our philosophy within due bounds, and not 
give ourselves up to its deductions when they would disturb our 
faith. We have already shown that philosophy is compelled to 
rely on inductions which are incomplete, and that her inferences 
have not equal authority with the declarations of God. We are 
so constituted that we rely on the uniformity of nature's laws, and 
therefore believe that they will operate in the future as they have 
operated in the past. This constitutional propensity is wisely 
given, fitting us to shape our course in the world ; and, for all the 
purposes for which it was given, it does not deceive us ; but there 
are limits within which the propensity must be restrained. A child 
asks the cause of something which he notices, and when we have 
answered, he asks, What is the cause of that ? and when, in an- 
swering his successive inquiries, we have led his mind up to God as 
the First Cause, he asks, Who -made God ? We may very wisely 
tell him that God is self-existent ; but this means nothing more than 
that his inquisitive philosophy must stop here, having reached its 
utmost bounds. Now, whether we can metaphysically account for 
it or not, there is a propensity in the human mind to regard each 
moral agent as a sort of original source of action, somewhat as we 
conceive of God. This propensity, perhaps as universal as the 
propensity to rely on the uniformity of nature's laws, may have 
been given us for the very purpose of checking our philosophy when 
it would presume to explain the origin of evil in the heart of a 
moral agent. Accustomed, as it is, to contemplate the relation of 
cause and effect, operating in an established order of sequence, it 
does not submit to consider man an original source of action, but 
labors to account for the moral evil in him by causes operating 
from without, and ultimately traces it to God. It may be well to 
inquire whether philosophy, when it pushes the doctrine of neces- 
sity into the inmost arcana of this subject, does not assume in the 



134 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

premises from which it reasons, that there is a natural inertia in 
mind, as in matter; or, rather, a sort of natural immutability. 
Among the arguments in favor of moral necessity, it was stated 
that the volitions of a known individual under given influences, are 
often the subject of calculation; but, for successful calculation, 
the individual must be known ; and in this, it is implied that he 
must possess some fixed character. A change in him, all the cir- 
cumstances being the same, makes a change in the result. A 
chemical experiment now operates precisely as it would have done 
before the flood, because every atom of matter has precisely the 
same properties now that it had then. Matter has a natural immu- 
tability ; but can this be predicated of mind ? And does not 
philosophy assume it when it applies the doctrine of necessity to 
mental phenomena without any limitation, and boldly carries back 
the authorship of sin to God, as the First Cause. There is a ten- 
dency in the human mind to a fixed state of virtue or vice, by the 
power of habit ; but a natural immutability of the mind, anterior 
to the formation of habits, philosophy ought not to assume. Mat- 
ter, in each atom, is immutable ; and it is mutable only in its com- 
binations. The mind of man, though an uncompounded essence, is 
not immutable. God has made matter immutable ; or operates im- 
mutably in matter. But if he has not chosen to operate in the 
same manner in mind, but has made each mind, in some sort, an 
original source of action, philosophy must submit to push her orders 
of sequence with confidence only where she has firm ground to 
stand on. 

To illustrate the distinction attempted in the last paragraph, let 
us suppose a metallic globe placed on the sharp point of a pyramid. 
No human art could so adjust it that it would not fall to one side. 
Mathematically we may demonstrate the possibility of such an ad- 
justment that the power of gravity, operating equally on every 
side, would retain it for ever in the same position. But, in spite 
of mathematics, the globe would fall to one side ; and philosophy 
will seek to account for its fall as arising from some failure in the 
adjustment, or some external cause, as a breath of air, operating 
from without, and not from any changeableness in the globe itself. 
When once started in the descent, the globe has a tendency to mo- 
tion in the direction taken, but it does not pass from rest to motion 
except from external influence. Now, if philosophy equally denies 



WORKS OF GOD. 135 

that motion can originate in the mind, and maintains that its doc- 
trine of necessity is applicable to the mind, not only when acting 
under the influence of habit, but as existing before habits were 
formed, does not philosophy assume a natural immutability of mind, 
in attributing the first start in the wrong way to a failure in God's 
adjustment, or to the operation of external causes, which have been 
brought into being and action by him ? If philosophy assumes this 
in the premises from which it reasons, its conclusions are not to be 
trusted. 

Conclusion. 

Genuine piety in the heart prompts the inquiry which burst 
forth from the lips of the converted Saul of Tarsus, " Lord, what 
wilt thou have me to do?" It asks to know the will of God, for 
the purpose of doing it, as naturally as the infant's appetite craves 
the appropriate food. The men of the world walk in their own 
ways, and fulfil the desires of their own minds ; but the man of 
piety desires to walk in the way of the Lord, and to do that which 
is pleasing to him. Hence he delights to meditate on his law. 
The Bible would not be a book adapted to the state of his mind, 
if it did not contain precepts for the regulation of his conduct. 

The infant's appetite not only craves food, but appropriate food ; 
and this fact is alluded to in the words of Peter, " As new-born 
babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow 
thereby. 1 The Bible, the word of God, supplies the sincere milk 
which the child of grace needs and craves. It not only gives 
precepts, but precisely such precepts as are adapted to the holy 
affections of the new-born soul, and tend to increase and strengthen 
them. Paul delighted in the law of God, not simply because it 
was his law, but because it was holy, just and good. 2 The pure 
morality of Christ and his doctrine, even infidels acknowledge; 
and precisely the same morality appears in the decalogue, and in 
the two great precepts on which hang all the law and the prophets. 
The decalogue, written on the tables of stone by the finger of God, 
has been thought by some to be the first specimen of alphabetical 
writing known in the world. Whether this be true or not, it is 
certainly among the earliest specimens of which we have any know- 

1 1 Peter ii. 2. 2 Rom. vii. 12. 



136 THE WILL AND WORKS OF GOD. 

ledge. The fact, that at so early a period a law so pure and 
perfect was given to mankind, is very remarkable, and can be 
satisfactorily accounted for only on the supposition that it emanated 
from God. The intrinsic excellence of this law corresponds well 
with the solemnity and grandeur of its promulgation from Sinai. 
The pious man admires its perfection and delights in its holiness, 
and sees in it a proof that the Bible which contains it is indeed the 
word of God. 

When the desires are properly regulated within, all the out- 
goings of the soul will be in accordance with the will of God ; and 
they will be so adapted to the circumstances of our being, as to 
show that the power which made the things that are without, is the 
same that works within us to will and to do. All the works of 
God, in heaven above, where the sun, moon and stars declare his 
glory, and in the earth beneath, which is full of his goodness, are 
fitted to excite our admiration and gratitude. We admire the 
habitation which our Creator has provided for us, so splendid and 
so richly furnished, and we sit, with overflowing gratitude, at the 
table which his Providence has spread before us with such profusion 
and variety. 

The doctrine of General Providence suffices for the exercise of 
gratitude in the pious heart. The general arrangements of the 
w r orld in which we are placed, show the benevolence of him who 
planned them ; and w T e should have just cause of gratitude to him 
for the wise and beneficial arrangements, even if we conceived of 
him as leaving the world to the operation of the general laws which 
he has instituted, and giving no direction to them in the minute 
details of our daily experience. But genuine piety is no less dis- 
played by resignation in the hour of suffering, than by gratitude in 
the general experience of enjoyment. Yet resignation to God 
under afflictions would be impossible, if they were not viewed as 
coming from the hand of God. Job was resigned under his afflic- 
tion, because he considered it sent by God. " Shall we receive 
good at the hand of God, and shall we not also receive evil ?" To 
the exercise of resignation, a belief in particular Providence is 
necessary. The general arrangements of Providence, which, be- 
cause of their benevolence, have called forth our gratitude, may 
fail, in the particular exigency of our present condition, to meet 
our necessities. We suffer in consequence of this failure, and pi-sty 



WORKS OF GOD. 137 

prompts us to bear the suffering with resignation to the will of God ; 
but this would be impossible if we did not believe that the particular 
event happens according to the will of God. We must view 
Providence, not merely as instituting general laws, but as directing 
the times and circumstances in which the operation of these laws 
shall cross our path. 

In order to the further exercise of piety, the providence in which 
we believe must not only be particular, but it must be exercised 
with design. Resignation to blind fate is not piety. We must not 
only feel the hand of God in our affliction, but we must realise that 
it has been laid on us with design. We have to do, not so much 
with our Father's hand as with our Father's heart. It is not 
necessary to the exercise of piety, that we should be able to pene- 
trate his design ; but we must believe its existence. We are not 
required to understand or explain all the mystery attendant on 
the doctrine of predestination ; but a belief of the doctrine is 
necessary to an intelligent exercise of pious resignation. A wise 
Providence, and to such only is intelligent piety resigned, operates 
with design. 

Human depravity is prone to make an improper use of divine 
truth. The doctrine concerning God's will of purpose is made a 
pretext for neglecting his will of command, and an apology for past 
disobedience. The transgressor pleads, "who hath resisted his 
will ?" But sincere piety leaves God to execute his will of purpose 
in his own way, and makes the will of precept its rule of duty. It 
leaves God to his work, and delights in it as the work of God. 
Where it cannot comprehend his design, it still trusts in him, and 
rejoices in the assurance that he does all things well. It recognises 
him as operating in all things without ; and, in viewing all these 
operations, finds occasion for admiration, gratitude and resignation. 
But whenever a question of duty arises, it is decided, not by the 
inquiry, What has God done? or, What has he purposed to do? but, 
What has he commanded ? The union of resignation and obedience 
in the same heart, is a test of true piety. Happy is he in whom 
their influence is combined. He can delight to do the will of God, 
and find a heaven in his obedience ; and he can rejoice even in 
tribulation, and feel a bed of thorns, if God has laid him on it, to 
be a bed of down. 



BOOK FOUETH. 

DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FALL 
AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 



INTRODUCTION. 

DUTY OF REPENTANCE. 1 

We have seen that religion is not confined to the intellect, but 
brings into exercise the strongest feelings of the heart. Love to 
God, and delight in his will and works, have been shown to be 
essential elements ; and these are affections which do not play on 
the surface, but move the soul from its lowest depths. If, in our 
study of religious truth, we have proceeded thus far without feel- 
ing, without strong feeling, our labor has been unprofitable, and we 
would do well to begin anew. No time should be lost in securing 
the main end for which God's truth should be studied ; and if here- 
tofore we have treated it as we do the truths of other science, we 
should persevere in this course no longer, lest the profane use of 
sacred things become habitual, and provoke God to deny us his 
illuminating grace. 

Love to God, and delight in his will and works, are holy and 
pleasurable exercises of the mind ; but religion in a sinful being is 
necessarily attended with pain. To be at ease in sin, is a proof 
that the heart is dead, " dead in trespasses and sins." Every one 
whom the spirit of God quickens, becomes sensible of sin, and feels 
the pang of a broken heart on account of it. The anguish of 

1 Matt. iii. 2. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 
Acts xvii. 30. The times of this ignorance God winked at, but now com- 
mandeth all men everywhere to repent. 

(138) 



DUTY OF REPENTANCE. 139 

remorse may be alleviated by a sense of pardoning mercy ; but the 
joy of pardon cannot stop the flow of penitence. Like the woman 
to whom much had been forgiven, the believer, while receiving his 
pardon with overflowing joy, does not lose his sense of sin, but is 
ready to wash the feet of his Lord with tears. These tears have 
their sweetness. 

The necessity of repentance is abundantly taught in the sacred 
volume. The language of Christ is explicit, " Except ye repent, 
ye shall all likewise perish." 1 We have no right to consider our- 
selves in the way to eternal life, if we are strangers to repentance. 
Nor will it suffice to have been at some time alarmed about our 
sin. A false repentance, which needs to be repented of, satisfies 
many a deluded soul. Genuine repentance is a deep-felt and 
abiding sense of sin, a condemnation of ourselves before God on 
account of it, a turning away from it with abhorrence and loath- 
ing, and a fixed purpose of soul never again to commit it, or be at 
peace with it. This sense of sin drives the soul to Christ, and 
unites with the exercise of faith in Christ, to distinguish genuine 
religion from the counterfeits with which the world abounds. 

Reason teaches that it is the duty of men, as sinners, to repent 
of their sins. When one man has given just occasion of offence to 
another, by the common consent of mankind it is his duty to be 
sorry for his offence. If we have no sorrow for having offended 
God, we treat him with less respect than is due to a fellow-worm. 
Not to be sorry is to justify the offence, and virtually to repeat it. 
God searches our hearts, and knows our inmost thoughts ; and, if 
we remain impenitent after having sinned against him, it is as if we 
told him to his face that we did right to treat his authority with 
contempt. Our impenitence insults the majesty of heaven, and 
defies his wrath. 

But the duty of repentance is not left to be inferred from the 
common sense of mankind. It is true, that no command to repent 
is found in the decalogue. That summary of duty was given to 
men as men, and not as sinners. It was not designed to restore 
men to the favor of God, and, therefore, did not treat with them as 
sinners. But when the gospel began to be preached, its first 
proclamation was, " Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand." 2 In all the ministry of the gospel, this is the first duty 

1 Luke xiii. 3. 2 Matt. iii. 2. 

/ 



140 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OP MAN. 

required of men. Without it, not a step can be taken in the way 
of return to God ; and, without it, there is no possibility of obtain- 
ing the divine favor. " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
perish. " It is, therefore, of the very highest importance to under- 
stand what repentance is, and to have such views of truth as will 
tend to produce it in our hearts. 

When we approach a fellow-man whom we have offended, to offer 
to him our confessions, and seek his pardon, it is expected that we 
shall be sensible of having done wrong, shall regret the deed, blame 
ourselves for it, acknowledge his right to be displeased, and resolve, 
perhaps promise, to do so no more. All this must exist in repent- 
ance toward God, if we do not mean to repeat our insults to the 
Searcher of hearts. We may deceive a man like ourselves with 
professions of penitence that are insincere, and designed merely 
to propitiate him, but God cannot be deceived, and to attempt it is 
to mock him. 

In order to sincere repentance toward God, it is indispensable 
that we should understand that we have sinned against him. Men 
do not usually compare their actions with his righteous law, but 
with the actions of other men. We walk according to the course 
of this world, and are satisfied if we conform to such rules of con- 
duct as are esteemed reputable among men. Multitudes pass 
through life without any proper conviction of sin, and die impeni- 
tent, who have never examined and tried their conduct by a higher 
rule. To undeceive such persons, and to strip them of such false 
and delusive pleas, it is necessary to convince them that the course 
of this world is downward and wicked, and that their conformity to 
it should alarm rather than satisfy them. The doctrine of uni- 
versal total depravity, is therefore conducive to true repentance. 

We do not truly repent of an offence to a fellow-man, and sin- 
cerely ask pardon, unless we believe that he has just cause to be 
offended. If his displeasure has arisen from mere mistake, we ex- 
pect to appease him by giving such information as will correct his 
mistake. If he has become displeased through mere captiousness, 
we may justify ourselves before him, and convict him of the wrong. 
In order to the exercise of genuine repentance towards God, we 
must know that he has a right to be displeased with us, that he 
has made no mistake in the matter, and that every attempt of ours 
to convict him of wrong in the case, will be abortive. To impress 



O.RIGINAL STATE OF MAN. 141 

all this deeply on our minds, it is only necessary we should be fully 
convinced that we are under just condemnation from God, and that 
all our pleas in self-justification are without foundation. 

Good men have been accustomed to draw motives to penitence 
from the doctrines that have been mentioned. David humbled 
himself before God, with a confession of his natural depravity. 
" Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin did my mother con- 
ceive me." 1 He viewed his sin with the greater abhorrence, as he 
saw and confessed the justice of the condemnation which it received 
from his Judge. " That thou mightest be justified when thou 
speakest, and be clear when thou judgest." 2 

True penitence is rendered more deep and pungent by a view of 
the wretchedness and helplessness which sin has brought upon us. 
So Paul exclaimed, " wretched man that I am ; who shall deliver 
me from the body of this death?" 3 



CHAPTER I. 
original state of man. 

The first Man and Woman were created holy, and, for a 
time, served their creator acceptably. 4 

How long the first pair continued in their original state of inno- 
cence and happiness we have no means of knowing ; but that they 
did so continue for a time, is apparent on the face of the sacred 
record. A free intercourse with their Maker existed, and the token 
of the divine favor, the fruit of the tree of life, was not denied 
until a period arrived, distinctly marked in their history, when they 
first violated the covenant of their God. 

The fact that the first pair continued, for a time, to serve God 
acceptably, proves that their Creator had endowed them with the 
powers necessary for this service. The possession of these endow- 
ments is implied in the phrase, " God created man in his own 

1 Ps. li. 5. 2 Ps. li. 4. 

* Rom. vii. 24. 4 Gen. i. 27, 31 ; Ecc. vii. 29. 



142 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

image." 1 To interpret this as referring to the form of the human 
body, is wholly inconsistent with the spirituality of God. It is true, 
that God was afterwards manifested in human form ; but the Scrip- 
tures represent the Son of God, in his assumption of our nature, as 
" made- like his brethren," and, therefore, to suppose his human 
body to have been the pattern after which the body of Adam was 
formed, would change the order presented in the divine word. The 
phrase, "image of God," as explained by Paul, 2 includes "know- 
ledge, righteousness and true holiness." It, therefore, refers to 
their mental endowments, by which they were fitted for the service 
of God. 

Intelligence was necessary to render the service to God for which 
man was designed. A vast world had been created, abounding with 
creatures which exhibited, in their wonderful structure, the wisdom 
and power of their Creator, and, in the bountiful provision made 
for the supply of their wants, his goodness was richly displayed ; 
but not one of all these creatures was capable of appreciating this 
wisdom, power, and goodness. They had eyes to see the light of 
the material sun ; but, though the heavens declared the glory of 
God, and the earth was full of his goodness, to that glory and 
goodness all were totally blind. A creature was wanted capable 
of knowing God, and this knowledge our first parents possessed. 

Something more than mere intellectual endowments was neces- 
sary to fit our first parents for acceptable service to God. These 
were possessed by the angels that had not kept their first estate, 
and yet they were enemies of God, and cast out from his presence. 
Purity of heart was needed ; and, accordingly, Adam and Eve were 
endowed with righteousness and true holiness. They not only knew 
God, but they loved him supremely. Every natural desire which 
they possessed was duly subordinated to this reigning affection. 
Even their love to each other, pure and unalloyed, was far inferior 
to that which they both felt to him, who daily favored them with 
his visits, and taught them to see his glory in all his works by 
which they were surrounded. 

We may interpret the phrase, "image of God," as including, 
also, the dominion with which man was invested over all inferior 
creatures. When representing man as the head of the woman, 

1 Gen. i. 27. 2 Col. iii. 10 ; Eph. iv. 24. 



ORIGINAL STATE OF MAN. 143 

Paul speaks of him, in this relation, as "the image and glory of 
God." 1 This investiture of authority gives him a likeness to God, 
the Supreme Ruler. In the state of innocence, man possessed 
this authority without fear from any of the creatures. Until he 
had rebelled against his God, they were not permitted to rebel 
against him. As the appointed lord of the lower world, all crea- 
tures rendered him homage.; and, as it were in their name, he 
stood, the priest in the grand temple, to offer up spiritual worship 
and service to the God of the whole creation. From every crea- 
ture which Adam named he could learn something of God ; and, 
with every new lesson, a new tribute of adoring praise was rendered 
to the Maker of all. 

In the particulars which have been mentioned, the image of God 
is "renewed" in those who experience the regenerating influences 
of the Holy Spirit, and are created in Christ Jesus unto good 
works. The word "renewed" carries back our thoughts to man's 
original state. A new creation is effected by the Spirit, restoring 
the regenerate to the knowledge, righteousness, and holiness from 
which man has fallen. In their renewed state, the effects of the 
fall still appear, and will remain until the last enemy, death, shall 
be de^royed ; but their connection with the second Adam secures 
the completion of the good work begun, and assures them that they 
shall ultimately bear the likeness of the heavenly, who is the image 
of God. 

The human soul bears likeness to God, " the Father of spirits," 
in its spirituality and immortality. Also, the happiness which 
Adam and Eve enjoyed, while their innocence remained, was a rill 
from the fountain of blessedness, which is in the eternal God. In 
this happiness the image of God appeared, until it became sadly 
effaced by transgression. The spirituality and immortality of the 
soul remain, but the happiness of Eden has never revisited the 
earth ; and it is again to be enjoyed only in the celestial paradise. 
Spirituality and immortality, without knowledge, righteousness, 
holiness, and communion with the blessed God, would constitute 
us immortal spirits in eternal woe. 

We may profitably look back to the holy and happy state in 
which our first parents stood when they came from the hand of their 

1 1 Cor. xi. 7. 



144 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

Creator ; and we may, with good effect, remember from whence we 
have fallen. A due contemplation of this subject will recommend 
to our acceptance the gracious plan of restoration which the gospel 
unfolds, in the person and work of the second Adam. What a 
Sabbath was that, when God, resting from the six days' work of 
creation, held communion with man, the last work of his hands ; 
and when man, unstained by sin, poured forth the first offering of 
praise from the newly-created earth, free and acceptable to the 
Creator ! Such a Sabbath the earth does not now know ; but such 
a Sabbath remains to the people of God, and blessed are they who 
shall enter into this rest. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE FALL. 



The first man, having been placed under a covenant of 
works, violated it, and brought its penalty on himself and 
his descendants. 1 

The narrative of the Fall, as given in the book of Genesis, is to 
be considered, not as a mythical representation, but as proper his. 
tory. It is always so referred to in subsequent parts of the sacred 
volume ; and its connection with other historical events is such as 
excludes the supposition, that it was anything else than simple fact. 

The revelation of God's wiU to Adam, as recorded in the book 
of Genesis, is not there called a covenant ; and some have doubted 
the propriety of using this term to denote it. If the word, in the 
Scripture use of it, signified, as it does in human transactions, a 
bargain made between equals, who are independent of each other, 
we might well reject the application of it to this subject. But in 
the sacred Scripture, it is used in a more extended signification. 
It denotes, 1. An immutable ordinance. 2 Un.der this sense may 
be included an irrevocable will or testament. 3 2. A sure and sta- 



1 Gen. ii. 17 ; iii. 6, 16, 17, 18, 19 ; Rom. v. 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. 

2 Jer. xxxiii. 20. 3 Ileb. ix. 15-17. 



THE FALL. 145 

hie promise. 1 3. A precept. 2 4. A mutual agreement. 3 With 
this latitude of meaning, the word must be considered applicable 
in the present case ; yet there would be no necessity to insist on 
its use, were it not that the Scriptures have used it in this applica- 
tion. See Hosea vi. 7, which may be more properly rendered than 
in the common version, " They, like Adam, have transgressed the 
covenant." So the same Hebrew phrase maybe understood in Job 
xxxi. 33 ; Ps. lxxxii. 6, 7. 

As the term covenant is sometimes applied to a free promise, in 
which no condition is stipulated ; it is proper to characterize that 
which was made with Adam as a covenant of works. It was 
a law, with a penalty affixed. " Of every tree of the garden, 
thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good 
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou 
eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." 4 No promise was given, that 
Adam would continue to enjoy the divine favor if he continued 
obedient; but this may be understood to be clearly implied. 
Whether higher favor than he then enjoyed, would have been 
granted on condition of his persevering in obedience through a 
prescribed term of probation, we are not informed. We have 
reason to conclude, that a continuance in well-doing, would have 
received stronger marks of divine approbation according to its 
progress ; and, from what we know of the power of habit, as tend- 
ing to establish man in virtue or vice, (a tendency which it has, 
because God has so willed it) the conjecture is not improbable, that, 
had Adam persevered in his obedience, he would, after a time, 
have been confirmed in holiness. But, where the Scriptures are 
silent, we should not frame conjectures and make them articles of 
faith. 

It is vain and sinful, to arraign God at the tribunal of our rea- 
son, for having prescribed such a test of obedience, as the eating 
of an apple. We may so far forget the reverence due to God, as 
to call in question the wisdom and goodness, of making so much 
ado about so little a matter ; but in this we betray great impiety. 
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? It is enough that 
God has done it. God's acts are not little, when he creates the 



1 Acts iii, 25 ; xxxiv. 10 ; Isaiah lix. 21. 2 Ex. xxxiv. 28. 

8 Gen. xxxi. 44; xxvi. 28, 29 ; 1 Sam. xviii. 3. Gen. ii. 16, 17. 

10 



146 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

minutest atom ; and God's requirements are not to be contemned, 
when he gives one of the least of his. commandments. The very 
simplicity of the thing, though human folly may scoff at it, may 
best agree with the wisdom of God. Had Adam made an attempt 
to dethrone his Maker, human reason would admit the magnitude of 
the crime ; but no greater evil would have been inflicted on omnipo- 
tence by his puny effort, than when he ate the forbidden fruit. 
What difference, then, is there, in the magnitude of the crimes ? 
None, in their effect; and none in their principle. To disobey, is, 
as far as the creature can go, to dethrone. Shall men mock God 
by permitting him to occupy the seat of universal authority, while 
they refuse obedience to that authority ? Be not deceived ; God 
is not mocked. He that disobeys God, rejects his reign ; and so 
God views it. The test of obedience prescribed to Adam was easy ; 
£md this very fact makes the transgression the more inexcusable. 
It showed the greatness of Abraham's faith, that it stood so severe 
a test when he was required to offer up his son Isaac ; and it proves 
the greatness of Adam's sin, that it was committed, when he might 
so easily have avoided it. 

What kinds of fruit the tree of life, and the tree of the know- 
ledge of good and evil, bore, we have no means of knowing ; and 
the knowledge, if we could attain to it, would do us no good. 
Some have asked, whether one fruit had a natural efficacy to pro- 
duce immortality, and the other to produce death ; but this also is 
an unprofitable question. Nature has no other efficacy than the 
will of God, and his appointment of these trees, for the use which 
it was his pleasure they should serve, was as efficacious as any law 
of nature. 

The sacred narrative informs us that the garden of Eden, in 
which the innocent and happy pair were placed, abounded with 
trees, yielding all sorts of pleasant fruits. In the midst of the 
garden, were two trees distinguished from all the rest, and designed 
for special use. What that use was, may be inferred from their 
names. The tree of life, of which they were permitted to eat, 
secured to them immortality, or exemption from the penalty of the 
covenant. The tree of knowledge of good and evil, was designed 
for a different purpose ; and its fruit was prohibited. Not to know 
good and evil, is a distinction ascribed to children. 1 Good and 

1 Deut. i. 39 : Heb. v. 14. 



THE FALL. 147 

evil, when spoken of in contrast, may refer to the moral quality 
of actions ; but they are not restricted to this signification. When 
Job said, " Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall 
we not receive evil ?" he did not refer to the moral distinction be- 
tween actions, but to enjoyment and suffering. When Barzillai 
declined to accompany David to Jerusalem, and live with him there, 
and assigned as a reason his inability to distinguish between good 
and evil ; his reference was to enjoyment, not to moral quality. 1 
Eve decided to eat of the forbidden fruit, because " she saw that 
it was good" not in a moral sense, but " for food." Children, 
who have not the knowledge of good and evil, are instructed by 
their parents, both what to do, and what to enjoy ; and it is their 
duty and interest to follow the instructions received. The first 
human pair stood in the relation of children to their Creator ; and, 
while they abstained from the forbidden fruit, they acknowledged 
their inability to know good and evil, and their dependence on the 
guidance of infinite wisdom. In abstaining, they acknowledged 
the prerogative of God, to decide for them what was good, and what 
was evil. The two . trees were very significantly placed near to 
each other, and in the midst of the garden. The tree of life was 
the symbol of the divine favor ; and the other tree, the symbol of 
the divine prerogative. The trees of the garden, generally, yielded 
fruit that was pleasant and life-sustaining; but the fruit of the 
tree of life was distinguished from the rest, as a special pledge of 
the divine favor. Yet the proximity of this tree to that which 
bore forbidden fruit, perpetually reminded the subjects of this pro- 
bation, that the favor of God could be enjoyed only by respecting 
his prerogative. This token of the divine authority was in the 
midst of the garden ; to remind them, that they held the privilege 
of eating all the pleasant fruits, by the grant of the Supreme 
Lord ; and that their desire and enjoyment of natural good, was 
to be regulated by the decision of him, whose prerogative it was to 
know good and evil. 

The departure of Eve from the straight line of duty is distinctly 
marked in the sacred narrative. " When the woman saw that the 
tree was good for food," 2 &c. When she saw. She judged for 
herself what was good. God's account of the transgression is : 

1 2 Sam. xix. 35. 2 Gen. iii. 6. 



14.8 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

" Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and 
evil ;" 1 he has usurped our prerogative. This was the first trans- 
gression. The desire of natural good was made the rule of action. 
" When she saw," &c. The desire of natural good prevailed over 
reverence for the authority of God ; and, in the transgression may 
be seen not only a desire of the pleasant fruit, but also a desire to 
be exempt from the necessity of referring to God's decision as the 
rule of conduct — "a tree to be desired to make one wise;" 2 to 
make one independent of God's wisdom. Such was the first trans- 
gression. It cast off the authority of God, usurped his preroga- 
tive, and gave the mind up to the dominion of natural desire. 

Because of his violation of the covenant, man was excluded from 
the symbol of the divine favor. A cherub, with a flaming sword, 
was placed to guard the approach to the tree of life, lest he should 
eat thereof and live for ever. He had incurred the threatened 
penalty, and it began at once to be inflicted on him. 

What was the precise import of death, as the penalty threatened 
to Adam, is a question of some difficulty. If it imported the death 
of the body, the threat was not executed at the time designated : 
"In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." He 
did not literally die on the day of his transgression. Some have 
accounted for this by supposing that the mediation of Christ inter- 
posed, and prevented the execution of the threat. That God's pur- 
pose of mercy, through Christ, was kept in view in his dealings with 
Adam, we have no reason to doubt ; but the Scriptures nowhere 
explain that it rescued man from the threatened penalty. If im- 
mediate literal death was the proper import of the threatened 
penalty, and if Adam was rescued from it by the mediation of 
Christ, he was delivered from a less evil to endure far greater. He 
was spared to live a life of depravity, and to die, if he died impeni- 
tent, under the wrath of God, and be doomed to eternal misery. 
If it be said that eternal misery would have followed his death had 
it taken place immediately, how can it be accounted for that this 
dreadful consequence of transgression was not intimated in the 
threatening ? If it be said that the term death included this also, 
then the literal interpretation of it is abandoned, and its chief im- 
port is made to relate to another matter, of far greater magnitude 

1 Gen. iii. 22. « Gen. iii. 6. 



THE FALL. 149 

than the dissolution of the body. The Holy Spirit is the best ex- 
positor on this subject; and, after stating that death was intro- 
duced into the world by the sin of Adam, 1 sets this death in con- 
trast with the eternal life procured by Christ : " The wages of sin 
is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord." 2 As eternal life does not consist in exemption from 
literal death, so its opposite does not consist in the mere loss of life 
to the body. 

We may understand that the threatened penalty was executed 
on Adam, in its proper import, when he was denied approach to the 
tree of life. This had been to him the symbol of the divine favor. 
What notion he had of death, as pertaining to the body, we know 
not ; and he may never have been taught anything on this subject 
until he heard the sentence, " Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt 
thou return." 3 But Adam, besides having a body made of dust, 
had received from God "a living soul," which could not suffer dis- 
solution. Some idea of this living principle, which distinguished 
him from the brutes around him, must have formed a part of that 
" knowledge" with which he was endowed, and in which the image 
of God in part consisted. What was death to his living soul ? He 
knew, by happy experience, what it was to have the communion 
and favor of the living God ; and to be cut off from these was the 
most dreadful death, and the only death of which the immortal 
spirit was capable. This penalty was inflicted in its awful import. 
The separation of the body from the soul, to which the name death 
is given, bears some likeness to the separation of the soul from 
God ; and the dissolution of the body, whether by worms, or the 
funeral fire, leads the mind to the worm that dieth not, and the fire 
that is not quenched, which are consequences of the second death. 
Of this full and most momentous import was the death of the soul. 
If Adam became a believer in Christ, he was delivered from under 
the penalty, and not merely prevented from falling under it. The 
dissolution of the body, which is the extension of the penalty to 
the material part of his constitution, he was not prevented from 
enduring; but from this, too, he will be redeemed at the resur- 
rection. 

The fallen pair were not only excluded from the tokens of God's 

' Rom. v. 12. 2 Rom. vi. 23. 3 Gen. iii. 19. 



150 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

favor, but they began to suffer positive inflictions of his displeasure , 
They were banished from Eden, the home of their innocence and 
joy. Its pleasant shades, its beautiful flowers, its fragrant odors, 
its delicious fruits, they are compelled to leave for ever. The de- 
lightful employment of dressing and keeping the garden, which 
yielded sustenance without painful toil, was to be exchanged for 
hard labor in cultivating a cursed soil, yielding briers and thorns ; 
and bread, hardly earned by the sweat of the face, was to be their 
food. On the woman, first in the transgression, a woe was de- 
nounced : " In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children." 1 The first 
pain, thus intimated, became the model pain of exquisite suffering. 
These denunciations foretold a sad future. Stung with remorse, 
harassed with fears, God offended, and their souls "undone, they 
bade farewell to their late blissful abode, and became wanderers on 
the earth, until their bodies, sinking under the weight of the ills 
inflicted, should crumble into dust. What other evils were included 
in that dreadful penalty, death ; what the full import of the word, 
they and their posterity were to learn by woeful experience. 



CHAPTER III. 

AN'S PRESENT STATE, 



The evils consequent on the disobedience of our first parents 
were not confined to them personally, but have fallen on their de- 
scendants also. Adam had been created in the image of God ; but 
when that image had been lost by transgression, he begat a son in 
his own likeness. 2 So all his descendants since have borne the 
image of the earthly, fallen progenitor, and have been like him, 
not only in character, but in condition. The subject will be exa- 
mined further in the following sections. 

Section I.— ACTUAL SIN. 

Men oe all ages and nations have, in their actions, vio- 
lated the law op God. 3 

The sacred volume, in describing the state of the world before 

1 Gen. iii. 16. 2 Gen. v. 3. 8 Rom. iii. 9-19 ; 1 John v. 19 j Eph. ii. 2, 3. 



man's present state. 151 

the flood, says that "the earth was filled with violence."' The 
history of the period before the flood is very brief; yet we find, in 
the beginning of it, the murder of Abel by his brother; 2 in the 
progress of it, the bigamy of Lamech, 3 and the murder which he 
confessed to his wives ; and, in the close of it, this account of the 
complete corruption of the earth, and the general prevalence of 
violence. The flood was sent in wrath for the transgressions of 
men ; but its waters did not cleanse the earth from sin. Iniquities 
prevailed after the flood, as they had done before ; and the condi- 
tion of mankind, in all nations, was such as Paul has described in 
the first chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. The children of 
Abraham were separated from the rest of mankind, and made a 
peculiar people to God ; but, notwithstanding the religious advan- 
tages which they enjoyed, their history is little else than a record 
of rebellions against God, and judgments inflicted on them for their 
provocations. So common is wickedness in the earth, that it is 
called "the course of this world," 4 and it is said, "the whole world 
lieth in wickedness." 5 

From this universal corruption no man is exempt. " There is no 
man which sinneth not." 6 All whom the Spirit of God brings to a 
knowledge of themselves confess, " In many things we offend all;" 7 
and they pray, "Forgive us our sins. 5 ' 8 If others make no con- 
fessions of sin, and no petitions for pardon, it is because of the 
blindness and hardness of their hearts. 

He who looks into the state of society around him, finds proof 
of man's wickedness. Crimes abound everywhere ; and the earth 
is filled with violence, as it was of old. Laws restrain the crimes 
and violence of men ; but the very necessity of laws demonstrates 
the wickedness of mankind. War and oppression make up, in great 
measure, the history of our race ; and innumerable deeds of wick- 
edness, which never find a place in the historic record, are written 
in God's book of remembrance, and will be brought to light in that 
day, when men shall be judged according to the deeds done in the 
body. 

The actual transgressions of men consist in doing what God has 
forbidden, and in leaving undone what he has commanded. The 

1 Gen. vi. 11. 2 Gen. iv. 8. 3 Gen. iv. 19-23. 

4 Eph. ii. 2. e 1 John v. 19. 6 2 Ch. vi. 36. 

7 James iii. 2 8 Luke xi. 4. 



152 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

latter are called sins of omission ; the former, sins of commission. 
With both these kinds of transgression all men are more or less 
chargeable. They who abstain from grosser crimes have, never- 
theless, committed many sins, and omitted many duties. But sin, 
in the overt act, constitutes only a very small part of man's sinful- 
ness, as will appear in the next section. 

Section II. — DE PR A VIT Y. 
ALL MEN ARE BY NATURE TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 1 

The depravity which we have to lament in mankind, respects 
their principles of action as moral beings. As merely sentient 
beings, external objects produce on them the proper effects ; and, 
as rational beings, they draw conclusions in science with correct- 
ness. The disease and debility which are the consequence of moral 
evil, may impair both sense and reason ; but we cannot affirm of 
these powers that they are totally depraved. Moral depravity 
shows itself in outward acts of transgression ; but, atrocious as 
these often are, it is chiefly in the heart that God beholds and hates 
it. " God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, 
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only 
evil continually." 2 In the heart it was that God saw the great 
wickedness of the earth. The heart is a metaphorical term, deno- 
ting those mental affections which are the principles or beginnings 
of action. Here depravity exists at the very fountain from which 
all human action flows. 

The depravity of man is total. We do not mean by this that his 
conduct is as bad as it could be, or that no amiable affections have 
a place in his heart. The young man who addressed our Redeemer 
with most respectful inquiry how to attain eternal life, appears to 
have been unconverted, yet he possessed so amiable qualities that 
it is recorded, " Jesus, beholding him, loved him." 3 The goodness 
of God is great, even to the unthankful and evil ; and he has been 
pleased to implant natural affections in hearts which desire not to 
retain him in their knowledge, and so to balance the propensities, 
even where there is no holiness, that life and human society have 

1 Gen. vi. 5 ; viii. 21 ; Ps. xiv. 2, 3 ; li. 5 ; Rom. i. 21-25 ; iii. 9-23 ; vi. 17 » 
vrii. 5, 6, 7, 8 ; Eph. ii. 1 ; 1 John v. 19. 

2 Gen. vi. 5. 3 Mark x. 21. 



man's present state. 153 

many enjoyments. When our first parents permitted natural desire 
to prevail over the authority of God, human depravity began to 
flow, and what it was at the fountain-head, it has been in all the 
streams that have spread through the earth. Men seek good at 
their own choice, and walk in their own ways, regardless of the 
authority of God. The love of God is dethroned from the heart, 
and therefore the grand principle of morality is wanting, and no 
true morality exists. A total absence of that by which the actions 
should be controlled and directed, is total depravity. Hence the 
strong language of Scripture, already quoted, is properly descrip- 
tive of human nature in its fallen state : " Every imagination of the 
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." 

Human depravity is universal. In heathen nations, men did not 
delight to retain God in their knowledge, and their very religion 
became filled with abominable rites. In lands blessed with the light 
of revelation, men love darkness rather than light, and give 
melancholy proof that they have not the love of God in them. The 
rich and the poor, the learned and the unlearned, the young and 
the old, all give evidence that, to serve and please God, is not their 
chief delight, their meat and their drink. A few, converted by 
divine grace, differ from the rest of mankind, and esteem it their 
pleasure and honor to obey God ; but these very men testify that 
it is God who has made them to differ, and that, in themselves, 
they are like other men. " Such were some of you ; but ye are 
washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of 
the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." 1 " I know that in 
me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." 2 

Depravity is natural to man; it is born with him, and not 
acquired in the progress of life. It is not to be ascribed to evil 
habit, or evil example. Evil habits are formed by evil doing ; and 
evil doing would not be, if there were no evil propensity. Evil 
example would not everywhere exist, if human nature were not 
everywhere corrupt; and the tendency to follow evil example 
would not be so common, and so much to be guarded against, if it 
were not natural to man. The Scriptures clearly teach this doc- 
trine. "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my 
mother conceive me." 3 The psalmist did not mean to charge his 

1 Cor. vi. 11. * Rom. vii. 18. 3 Ps. li. 5 



154 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

mother with crime in these his humble confessions, but manifestly 
designs them to be an acknowledgment that his depravity was in- 
woven in his nature, and bore date from the very origin of his 
being. The Saviour taught, that which is born of the flesh, is 
flesh. 1 The term flesh, which is here opposed to spirit, signifies, 
as it does in other places, our depraved nature. It traces human 
depravity up to our very birth. 

As every individual of our race is born of depraved parents, and 
brings depravity with him into the world, we are led to conceive of 
it as propagated from parent to child. This accords with the 
representations of Scripture : " Adam begat a son in his own like- 
ness." 2 It accords also with analogies to which we are familiar. 

Plants and animals propagate their like ; diseases are often 
hereditary, and the peculiarities of temper and mind by which 
parents were distinguished, often appear in their children. In our 
proneness to find fault with God's arrangements, we ask, why was 
the fallen nature of Adam propagated, rather than the original 
nature which he received from the hand of God. But we might as 
well complain that the ascent from the state of sin to that of inno- 
cence, is not as easy as the descent was found to be. Virtue fits 
the creatures of God for society, and for its most beautiful exhibi- 
tions opportunity is presented in the social relations. All these 
give one creature an influence over another, according to the cha- 
racter of the relation between them. Even angels, who were 
created independent of each other, had an influence on each other, 
so that the chief apostate in the great rebellion led followers after 
him. When man was created, it appeared good, in the view of 
Infinite Wisdom, to institute closer social relations than subsisted 
among angels. From these resulted a more extended influence 
than was known in the angelic ranks. Now, if Adam had trans- 
mitted his original nature, as created by God, the effect would have 
been the same as if the son had been immediately created by the 
divine hand, and the peculiarity designed to distinguish the human 
race would have been virtually abolished. 

Another complaint which sometimes rises in our murmuring 
minds is, that pious men do not propagate their piety, but their 
natural depravity. We might as well complain that men of great 

1 John iii. 6. * Gen. v. 3. 



man's present state. 155 

scientific attainments do not transmit their knowledge to their 
children as a natural inheritance. This complaint would have even 
greater appearance of propriety, for their attainments are, in a 
sense, their own ; but whatever of holiness is found in man, is not 
a natural endowment or attainment, but a special gift of divine 
grace. 

When we have discovered that the propagation of depravity in 
the human race accords with analogies found in nature, our minds 
seem to obtain relief; but, in reality, the matter has not been 
explained. Nature is not some superior rule to which God was 
compelled to conform, but it is an institution of his own, and can- 
not be right in the whole, if its parts are not right. If the propa- 
gation of human depravity is not in itself right, all the analogies 
of nature could not make it so. The true benefit of tracing these 
analogies is, that we may perceive all the arrangements to be from 
the same divine mind, and may the more reverently bow our judg- 
ment to the decision of Infinite Wisdom, and hush our murmurs into 
the more profound silence. 

Our natural inquisitiveness takes occasion from this subject to 
indulge in unprofitable speculations. As the depravity which is 
propagated belongs more properly to the soul than to the material 
frame, we ask whether the soul is propagated. Some have pre- 
ferred to consider the soul as a production immediately proceeding 
from the creating power of God. They suppose this to be intended 
when the Scriptures say, that he formeth the spirit of man within 
him. 1 They regard the body as all that is propagated, and suppose 
the Creator to form a spirit within it, as he breathed the spirit of 
life into the inanimate body of Adam, when he became a living 
soul. They view propagation as belonging to the material part of 
our nature, and consider it impossible, in the nature of things, that 
this should generate an immaterial spirit. The latter argument, 
which is merely philosophical, has to struggle with the fact that 
all animals generate something more than mere matter, in the 
powers with which they are endowed, and which bear a strong 
resemblance, in many respects, to the mental endowments of man. 
The preceding argument, from Scripture, fails in this, that God is 
equally said to form the body of the child in the womb of the 

1 Zech. xii. 1. 



156 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

mother, 1 and yet we never regard that body as a production of 
immediate creation. It is true that the body of Adam was lifeless 
for a time ; but it was not, as lifeless, that he begat a son in his 
likeness. We would not argue, from this case, that all life, whether 
in jplants or animals, is a production of immediate creation, and 
not of propagation; and it does not appear that a more valid 
argument can be deduced from it, to prove the immediate creation 
of every human soul. After all, what does the question amount 
to ? If the preservation of all things is strictly a perpetual crea- 
tion, the distinction is wholly annihilated ; for the soul is, at the 
first moment of its being, and at every subsequent moment through- 
out its whole existence, an immediate creation. But if this view 
be not admitted, it is still true that preservation is as dependent 
on the efficacious will of God, as creation. God willed that the 
soul of Adam should exist, and it came into being ; this we call 
creation. God willed that Adam should propagate a son, and that 
this son should, like the father, have both a soul and a body. The 
progeny came into being according to the will of God. This work 
differs from the former, in that it is not singular, but conforms to 
what we call a law of nature ; but nature's laws have no efficacy 
in themselves ; and when we attribute the work to the efficacious 
will of God, it is a mere question of classification, whether we refer 
it to creation or Providence. 

An objection to the doctrine of natural depravity is founded on 
the fact, that Jesus referred to little children, as examples for his 
disciples. This fact, however, will not authorize the inference, 
that little children are not depraved. The same teacher said to 
his disciples, "Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." 2 
As something may exist, proper to be imitated in animals which 
have no moral character, and even in serpents, notwithstanding 
their venom, so, something for imitation could be pointed out in 
children, notwithstanding their depravity. Another objection is 
drawn from the statement of Scripture, concerning children that 
had not done either good or evil. 3 But the doctrine does not 
affirm that all have committed overt acts of transgression. It 
refers to the first spring of action in the heart ; and a fountain 
may be corrupt, before it has sent forth streams, as truly as after- 

1 Job xxxi. 15 : Is. xliv. 2. 2 Matt. x. 16. 3 Rom. ix. 11. 



man's present state. 157 

wardtf. No objection, worthy of consideration, can be drawn from 
Paul's statement, that the children of the Corinthian Christians 
were holy j 1 for this manifestly relates to their fitness for familiar 
intercourse. 

Yain it will be, to receive the doctrine of human depravity into 
our creed, if it is not received into our hearts. A thorough con- 
viction of our total depravity is necessary to humble us before 
God, and drive us to the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. 
No genuine Christian experience can exist, where this is not felt 
and operative. 

Section III. —CONDEMNATION. 

All men are born under the just condemnation of God. 2 
The depravity of mankind unfits them for the favor and enjoy- 
ment of God ; and that separation from him, in which the death 
of the soul consists, would be the necessary result, even if no de- 
claration to that effect were made by the Supreme Judge. But 
this sentence has been declared. The voice of Providence loudly 
leclares it. The pain with which our first breath is drawn ; the 
sickness and suffering which attend on the cradle ; the sorrows and 
toils of our best years ; the infirmities of age ; and lastly death, 
which, if it does not terminate our course earlier, after threatening 
us at every step, and keeping us all our life-time in bondage, finally 
triumphs over us ; all these proclaim, in language not to be misun- 
derstood, that we are under the displeasure of God. The curse of 
God rests on the very ground that we tread ; and his wrath is 
poured out on our race in the wars, famines, and pestilence, with 
which the nations are often visited. The sentence is pronounced 
by the voice of conscience within us, which is to us as the voice of 
God ; "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, 
and knoweth all things." 3 God speaks in his holy word, proclaim- 
ing the sentence ; " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all 
things which are written in the book of the law to do them." 4 
" What things the law saith, it saith to them who are under the 
law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become 



1 1 Cor. vii. 14. 

2 Pa. vii. 11 ; Mark xvi. 16 ; John iii. 36 ; Rom. i. 18 ; ii. 5, 6 ; iii. 19 ; v- 
i2-21. » 1 John iii. 20. * Gal. iii. 10. 



158 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

guilty before God." l The view which is here presented of man's 
condition, relates not merely to his transgressions, but to his na- 
tural state. Hence it is said, " And were by nature, the children 
of wrath." 2 

These manifestations of God's displeasure are of early date, 
commencing with the first woes of mankind. They may be traced 
to the first sentence pronounced on our guilty parents, when they 
were expelled from Eden. Paul has explained, that we were all 
included in this sentence, and this is the proper date of our con- 
demnation. " By the offence of one, judgment came upon all men 
to condemnation." 3 From that hour, the descendants of Adam, 
their habitation, their employments, and their enjoyments, have all 
been under the curse. Blessings have, indeed, been poured out in 
rich profusion on our guilty race ; but our very basket and store 
have been cursed, and the cup of mercies has been mingled with 
bitterness. The forbearance and long-suffering of God are mani- 
fested ; but the hand of his wrath is uplifted. 

The condemnation under which we are born is just. It is God's 
sentence; and all his judgments are righteous. It is not unusual 
for those who are condemned by human laws, to complain of their 
sentence ; and we show our want of reconciliation to the justice of 
God, by our hard thoughts of God, when we either suffer or fear 
his displeasure against us. 

Our rebellious hearts deny the justice of our condemnation, on 
the ground that God made us, and not we ourselves. If he did 
not create our souls directly with depraved propensities, he brought 
them into being, in circumstances which made their depravity cer- 
tain. He gave us existence at his own pleasure; and over the 
circumstances of our origin we had no manner of control. It is 
therefore unjust, says the carnal heart, to condemn and punish us, 
for the sinful propensities which we bring with us into the world, 
or for the sinful deeds which naturally and necessarily proceed 
from them. In this manner, we are prone to transfer the blame 
of our iniquities from ourselves to our Maker. So did Adam; 
" The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the 
tree, and I did eat," 4 and so do all his descendants. Every one is 
probably conscious that such reasonings have at some time had a 



1 Rom. iii. 19. 2 Eph. ii. 3. 3 Rom. v. 18. 4 Gen. iii 12. 



man's present state. 159 

place in his mind ; and that it is difficult to exclude them -wholly. 
On this account, they need a full and sober examination. 

A consideration which ought to silence our accusing thoughts of 
God, is, that however much we may condemn him, we do not thereby 
acquit ourselves. If we admit that Adam would not have eaten 
the forbidden fruit had not God given him a wife ; and if we even 
admit that God was to blame for giving him a wife who might be- 
come his tempter : still this does not exculpate Adam. His wife 
was certainly to blame for tempting him ; and yet the guilt of his 
transgression is not the less on that account. Every agent is re- 
sponsible for himself. Distributive justice, which gives to every 
man his due, has no other rule, and can have no other. Human 
courts do not excuse culprits, because of the corrupting influences 
which have led them to violate the law. The law takes direct cog- 
nizance of the agent and his deed. This accords with the common 
sense of mankind. So divine justice condemns the wicked man, 
and cannot do otherwise than condemn him, however he may have 
become wicked, and whoever else may be to blame for his being so. 
This principle we should hold fast in all our reasonings on that 
subject. 

A difficulty in holding fast the principle just laid down, and 
applying it steadily to the case, arises from the circumstance that 
the Judge by whom we are condemned is also our Creator. To 
free our thoughts from embarrassment on this account, let us sup- 
pose the case were otherwise. Let us imagine that, after "the 
Sons of God had shouted for joy,'* at seeing the foundations of the 
earth laid, and its finished surface covered with verdure and beauty, 
the Most High was pleased to appoint one of this joyful choir to 
the honorable service of populating this new world, and to confer 
on him creative power for this purpose. Let us imagine that, just 
as this chosen agent was proceeding to execute his commission, he 
conceived the thought of making himself the god of the world he 
was about to people; and, for this purpose, filled it with unholy 
inhabitants, willing to join him in rebellion against the Supreme 
Ruler. This case, though merely imaginary, will serve to test the 
principle under consideration ; and the question which it presents 
for adjudication, is, how, according to the rule of eternal and im- 
mutable justice, ought this world of rebels to be treated. 

Perhaps it will be said, that the agent who abused the creative 



160 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OP MAN. 

power conferred on him ought to he punished, and that the crea- 
tures that he had brought into being ought to be annihilated. 
But this is not the plea which is set up for the human race. The 
plea which the sons of Adam present before the Judge of the earth, 
is, not that we ought to be annihilated, but that we ought not to 
be condemned and punished ; this new order of creatures might 
object to annihilation, and think themselves as much entitled to 
life and impunity as we do. They might say, that annihilation is 
only a scheme to get the question out of court, and to free the 
Judge from difficulty ; but they might insist on right, and claim, as 
they were created immortal by the commission granted to him by 
whom they were made, they have a right to immortality ; and that 
this immortality, since their depravity is natural to them, ought to 
be free from all punishment. Now, the Judge might, for wise rea- 
sons, not chose to evade the responsibility of adjudicating the case ; 
What, then, would the righteous sentence be ? Even to annihilate 
them against their will, would be a punishment ; that ought not to 
be inflicted, if the plea not guilty, because depravity is natural, can 
be sustained. The plea before an earthly judge would not stand 
a moment. Who could bear that a criminal should be acquitted 
and turned loose on the community, because he was born wicked, 
had grown up wicked, and it wa3 as natural for him to commit 
theft, murder, and all manner of crimes, as it was to breathe ? 
Such a plea, which the justice of men will not admit, the justice 
of God will not admit. The new order of creatures must be treated 
as they deserve ; and Infinite Wisdom, instead of annihilating them, 
must adopt some other expedient, to counteract the diabolical in- 
tentions of the agent that created them. 

The case which has been supposed is not so wholly imaginary as 
at first view it may have appeared. Though it is not true that an 
angel of light was commissioned to create a population for the 
earth, something else was done which, for all the purposes of the 
present discussion, amounts to the same. Adam and Eve, while 
yet in innocence, were commissioned to procreate a race of immor- 
tals, that should people the new world. This power, Satan, ambi- 
tious of divine honor, availed himself of to make himself the god 
of the world. By temptation he gained over the first pair to his 
design ; and so completely is the procreating power with which they 
were invested, turned to his account, that the offspring of it are 



MAN»S PRESENT STATE. 161 

called the "children of the devil." 1 So complete is his control of 
them, that he is called "the spirit that worketh in the children of 
disobedience," 2 and they "are taken captive by him at his will;" 3 
and the death which comes on them for disobedience is attributed 
to his power : " That through death he might destroy him that had 
the power of death, that is the devil." 4 The imaginary case, 
therefore, is substantially our own ; and, if rebellion against God, 
subserviency to Satan, and confederacy with him to overthrow the 
government of the King Eternal, cannot be justified at the tribunal 
of divine justice, we are verily guilty, and justly condemned. 

But our accusing thoughts of God are suppressed with difficulty. 
We have seen that the whole world is guilty before him ; and yet 
every mouth is not stopped. We still entertain hard thoughts, and 
vent hard words against him ; and the thing formed says to him 
that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus ? 5 Of such impiety 
it becomes us to beware. We should feel that our depravity is our 
own, however we came by it ; that it renders us wholly unfit for the 
society and enjoyments of the holy place where God dwells, and 
for his favor, service, and communion ; and that it ought to be 
loathsome in our own view, and must be so in the view of the holy 
God. If our own hearts condemn it, we shall be ready to admit, 
without complaint, that God also condemns it. And what can we 
say against God in the matter ? What wrong has he done ? His 
distributive justice does no wrong in treating the unholy according 
to their character. If he has done any wrong, it must relate to 
the department of public justice, which, as formerly explained, 
seeks the greatest good, and is the same as universal benevolence. 
Now, who will say that God's plan will not produce the greatest 
good ? Who is wiser and better than God, to teach him a prefer- 
able way ? When Satan gained his conquest over our first parents, 
God could have confined him at once in the pit, and inflicted on 
him the full torment yet in store for him ; and he might have anni- 
hilated the whole race of man in the original pair. This would have 
terminated the difficulty by an act of power ; but who will affirm 
that it would have been wisest or best ? God would have appeared 
disappointed and defeated. Distributive justice would have ap- 

1 1 Jolin iii. 10 ; John viii. 44. 2 Eph. ii. 2. 3 2 Tim. ii. 26. 

4 Heb. ii. 14. * Rom. ix. 20. 

11 , 



162 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

peared relieved rather than developed. Satan triumphed by arti- 
fice, and God has chosen to defeat him by the counsel of his wis- 
dom. Satan exalted himself to dominion over the world ; God 
chose to overcome him, not by power, but by humiliation. Satan 
gained his success by means of the first Adam ; God, in the second 
Adam, bruised the serpent's head. Satan, by his success, gained 
the power of death ; God, by death, the death of Jesus Christ, has 
destroyed him and his power. 1 Who will dare affirm that God's 
way is not best ? It becomes us to feel assured, whatever darkness 
may yet remain on this subject, that God would not have given up 
his Son to free us from condemnation, if that condemnation had 
not been just ; and that he would not have made so great a gift, so 
costly a sacrifice, if the scheme had not been worthy of his infinite 
wisdom ; or if some other, by which the sacrifice might have been 
spared, would have been preferable. 

When the question has been settled, and the principle established, 
that men may be held responsible for their own sins, without inqui- 
ring how they became sinners, a difficulty still remains as to the 
date of the condemnation under which we all lie, and the ground 
of the original sentence. When the mind becomes perplexed with 
subtle reasonings, it is well to keep facts steadily in view, and to 
hold fast the plain testimony of inspired truth. It is expressly 
said, in the unerring word, " By the offence of one judgment came 
upon all men to condemnation;" and again, "The judgment was 
by one [offence] to condemnation." 2 It is here clearly taught that 
one judgment, one sentence, included all men, and that this judg- 
ment was made up and the sentence pronounced on one offence of 
one man. With this express teaching of Scripture facts agree. 
The indications of God's displeasure against the race are not post- 
poned until each individual has been born into the world. Every 
mother is not carried back to Eden before she brings forth a son, 
that he may, in his own person, receive the sentence of condemna- 
tion, be denied access to the tree of life, driven from the garden of 
delights, and doomed to sorrow, toil, and death. Whatever our 
reasonings may say on the subject, it is fully ascertained to be the 
will of God, before an individual is born into the world, that, when 
born, he shall be in the condition in which the curse left the father 

1 Heb. ii. 14. 2 Rom. v. 16, 18. 



man's present state. 163 

of the race. The Bible, and the voice of Nature, speak alike on 
this point ; ana if our reasonings say that the Author of Nature 
and the Bible has done wrong, we should suspect that we have erred 
in our inferences, or in the premises from which they are drawn. 
And if it could be shown that a separate sentence is pronounced 
on each individual as he comes into the world, his condition would 
be no better. Being depraved by nature, we are " by nature chil- 
dren of wrath." 1 Wrath is still our inheritance; and if the anti- 
quity of the sentence which appointed it be admitted, the measure 
of that wrath is not thereby increased, nor the endurance of it 
made earlier. As to these results, the question is one of no im- 
portance whatever. Its relation, as exhibited in Scripture, to the 
doctrine of justification by the obedience of Christ, constitutes its 
chief claim to our careful consideration. 

The sentence, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," 
was pronounced on Adam in the singular number ; yet he appears 
to stand under this sentence as the representative of his descend- 
ants, on all of whom the sentence takes effect. So Eve was ad- 
dressed in the singular number, " In sorrow shalt thou bring forth 
children ;" but she stood, in this sentence, as the representative of 
all her daughters, on whom this penalty falls. As the natural 
parents, Adam and Eve stood together as the head of the race ; 
but there was a peculiar sense in which that headship pertained to 
Adam. Though Eve was first in the transgression, it is not said by 
one woman, but " by one man sin entered into the world." The 
judgment was not by the two offences of the two natural parents 
of the race, but by the one offence of the one man ; the previous 
offence of the woman being left out of the account. In this head- 
ship Adam is contrasted with Christ, being called " the figure of 
him that was to come." 2 This comparison is further brought to 
view in 1 Cor. xv. 45, 47, where Christ is called the second Adam ; 
and in verse 22, where it is said, " As in Adam all die, even so in 
Christ shall all be made alive." On Adam, who was first formed, 
the responsibility of peopling the new world with a race of holy 
immortals specially rested ; and, though Satan artfully directed his 
first assault against the woman, his scheme would have failed had 
not Adam been gained over to his interest. This divinely ap- 

1 Eph. ii. 3. 2 R om> v> i 4> 



164 TRE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

pointed headship of Adam made his disobedience the turning point 
ok which the future condition of his posterity depended ; and Paul 
takes occasion from this to illustrate the dependence of believers 
on the obedience of the second Adam, for justification and life. 

To this view it is objected, that, according to the principles of 
justice, the guilt of one man cannot be transferred to another, and 
no man can be justly condemned for that of which it is impossible 
for him to repent. No man living can repent of Adam's sin, and 
the guilt of Adam's sin cannot justly be imputed to any other 
person. 

What are here so confidently assumed as axioms, may well be 
called in question. We must believe the Scriptures, when they 
say, " The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." 1 " He 
bore our sin in his own body on the tree." 2 And we know that men 
cannot repent of deeds which they have wholly forgotten, and yet 
they are responsible for them. But there is a much shorter way 
of getting at this question, than by a tedious examination of these 
assumed axioms. No man understands that the guilt of Adam was 
transferred. It still remained his, and was closely and inseparably 
bound about him. But every one knows that there may be union 
and confederacy in crime. In commercial affairs, if twenty men 
owe one hundred dollars, each may pay five dollars, and the obli- 
gation of the whole will be cancelled. But in morals, if twenty 
subjects confederate to assassinate their king, each one is guilty of 
the whole crime, because each one has the full intention of it. 
Only one of the band may plunge the dagger to the monarch's 
heart ; but his crime may be justly imputed to them all, though his 
guilt may not be transferred to another. Now, we may inquire, 
whether such union does not exist between Adam and his de- 
scendants, as justifies the imputation of his sin to them; or, in 
other words, shows it to be in accordance with justice. Paul, in 
comparing Adam and Christ as public heads, has, in the fifth chap- 
ter of Romans, pointed out disagreements as well as agreements. 
Death comes from the disobedience of the one ; and life from the 
obedience of the other ; and in Rom. vi. 23, he teaches that there 
is an important difference as to the mode in which these results 
follow. Death is wages, a thing deserved ; life is a gift. The 

•Is. liii. 6. 2 lPet. ii.24. 



man's present state. 165 

benefits of righteousness and life, received from Christ, are by faith ; 
and "It is of faith, that it might be by grace." 1 The condemna- 
tion and death which are from Adam, are not gratuitous and arbi- 
trary, but come on us justly. We inquire, then, whether there is 
such a connection between Adam and his descendants, as renders 
the imputation of his sin to them, an act of justice. 

1. There is a moral union between Adam and his descendants. 
His disobedience unfurled the banner of rebellion, and we all rally 
around it. We approve the deed of our father, and take arms in 
maintaining the war against heaven, which his disobedience pro- 
claimed. He is the chief in this conspiracy of treason, but we are 
all accessories. As to the outward act, the eating of the forbid- 
den fruit, we did not commit it ; but, regarding it as a declaration 
of independence and revolt, we have made it our own, and it may 
be as justly set to our account, as if we had personally committed 
the deed. In this view, if we cannot, strictly speaking, repent of 
Adam's sin, we may most cordially disapprove the whole revolt 
from God, in which our race is engaged ; may most bitterly regret 
that it was ever commenced ; and may take guilt and shame to our- 
selves in deep humiliation before God, that we have been engaged 
in it. With such feelings pervading our hearts, the doctrine that 
Adam's sin is imputed to us, will not be rejected as inconsistent with 
justice. If we cannot, strictly speaking, repent of it, we may at 
least take the guilt of it to ourselves, in a sense which perfectly 
accords with the feelings of true penitence ; and when the Holy 
Spirit has taught us to impute it to ourselves, we shall not complain 
that God imputes it. 

2. There is a natural union between Adam and his descendants. 
He is their natural parent ; and, because of this relation, they in- 
herit a depraved nature. Our moral union with him renders our 
condemnation just, from the moment we possess separate existence, 
because of our personal depravity ; and our natural union with 
him rendered it proper, that our condemnation should be included 
in the general sentence. 

3. There is a federal union between Adam and his descendants. 
We have before seen that a covenant, not in the common, but the 
Scripture sense of the term, was made with Adam. This covenant, 



1 Rom. iv. 16. 



166 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

this arrangement or constitution of things, made the future cha- 
racter and condition of his descendants dependent on his obedience. 
He was, in this respect, their federal head. Some maintain that 
the covenant with Adam was the covenant of nature, and that 
there was no federal headship, different from the natural headship 
which belonged to him as the first parent. Happily for us, a deci- 
sion of this question is not indispensable to our present discussion. 
The natural and moral union which we have already considered, is 
a just ground for the divine sentence against the whole race, in the 
person of their first parent; but a further examination of this 
question may be conducive to a better understanding of the subject. 

Since nature is not something different from God operating, it 
cannot be of much importance to determine how much of the trans- 
action with Adam was natural, and how much beyond the proper 
province of nature. The revelation of God's will in the garden 
was as much above nature, as the subsequent revelation from Sinai ; 
and so also was the judgment pronounced after the transgression. 
But the including of children with their parents, in the penalty in- 
flicted for the sins of their parents, is seen in the providence of God, 
both in ordinary and extraordinary dispensations. Every one 
knows that poverty and suffering are brought on children by the 
intemperance and other crimes of their parents. The evils of war, 
famine, and pestilence, judgments inflicted for the sins of men, fall 
on children as well as their parents. In the deluge, and the burn- 
ing of Sodom, children were destroyed with their parents. On 
this point, the word of God agrees with his providence. We are 
sometimes jealous for the Lord's reputation, and are afraid to 
speak of his visiting the sins of parents on their children, but we 
are more cautious than the Lord himself. He proclaimed from 
Sinai, with his own voice, and recorded in stone with his own finger, 
"I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of 
the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation 
of them that hate me." 1 And when he showed his glory to Moses, 
and proclaimed his name, instead of being jealous to conceal this 
fact, he was jealous rather to make it known : " Visiting the in- 
iquity of the fathers upon the children. 2 

God's solemn declarations on this point not only explain his 

1 Ex. xx. 5. s e x# xxx i Vt 7t 



man's present state 167 

providence, but, in the most impressive manner, exhibit the great 
responsibility of parents. To bring an immortal into being, and to 
form his character for time and eternity, is a responsibility most 
momentous. This responsibility devolves on men, and it is proper 
they should feel it. To awaken them to a sense of it, God ad- 
dresses them in the solemn language which has been quoted. 

While the Scriptures stir up parents to a sense of their responsi- 
bility, they leave to children no pretext with which to cover their 
iniquities. Some have said, " The Lord's ways are not equal. Our 
fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on 
edge." 1 To these complainers God said, "Behold all souls are 
mine ; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine ; 
the soul that sinneth, it shall die." 2 This is not a law repealing 
the decalogue, but is to be explained in harmony with it. The sins 
of parents affect both the character and the condition of their 
children, and for all this they are responsible ; but the condition 
of the children is not worse than their character, and therefore the 
Lord's ways are equal, and their complaints against him ground- 
less. 

The case of Adam differed from that of all fathers since. These 
may transmit peculiar tempers and propensities, and may influence 
their children by instruction and example, but they cannot bring 
them into the world free from the depravity and condemnation 
which the transgression of Adam brings upon them. But, though 
the responsibility on Adam was greater, it is still true, as in the 
other cases, that his descendants are responsible for themselves, 
and not one of them will suffer beyond the demerit of his personal 
character. Such is the union between Adam and his descendants, 
that depravity and condemnation pass from him to them, not sepa- 
rately, but as one inheritance. His sin, for which they suffer, is 
their own as well as his, and it is imputed to them because it 
belongs to them — is justly theirs. 

After all the explanations that have been made, it may be that 
our hearts still accuse God, and secretly say that, had we been in 
his stead, we would have dealt more kindly with the human race 
than he has done. These accusations of God, he hears; these 

1 Ez. xviii. 2. 2 Ezek. xviii. 4. 



168 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

most secret whispers of the heart, he fully understands. What 
impiety does he see therein ! That we, who know so little of his 
ways, should presume to be wiser or better than he, is daring im- 
piety ; and if nothing else will convince us that we deserve the 
wrath of God, let this impiety suffice. Let us accuse no more, but 
lay our hands on our mouths, and in deep silence before him, 
confess our guilt. 

Section I V. — HELPLE SSNE SS. 

Men are unable to save themselves. 1 

The inability of men to save themselves, respects both their 
condemnation and their depravity. 

1. Men are unable to free themselves from condemnation. 

The justice by which we are all condemned is immutable. It is 
an attribute in the nature of God, who is not only the first cause 
of all things, but the very standard of all perfection. When we 
inquire whether God's ways are right, we have only to ask whether 
they correspond with his own perfections, for there is no higher 
standard by which they may be tried. As the perfections of God 
are immutable, the standard of right is immutable. A change in 
the law by which we are condemned is therefore impossible. God 
has sometimes, from regard to the peculiar circumstances of some 
men, given special commands to them, which have not been obliga- 
tory on all ; but the obligation to obey him, whatever his commands 
may be, is universal and perpetual, and no act of disobedience can 
ever be justified under his righteous government. 

The sentence of condemnation has been duly pronounced. It 
was not a rash decision, needing to be revised. The Omniscient 
Judge knew well all the facts in the case, all the circumstances 
which may be pleaded in extenuation, all the effects of his decision 
on us, and all the bearings of it on his own character and government. 
His determination to create the world was not made with greater 
deliberation, or on surer ground ; and we may as soon expect him 
to annihilate all the creatures that he has made, as to reverse the 
sentence by which we are condemned. 



1 Jer. xiii. 23 ; John iii. 3 ; vi. 44; Rom. iii. 19, 20; viii. 7, 8; Gal. iii. 10; 
Heb. x. 4 : xii. 14. 



man's present state. 169 

The Scriptures affirm, that by the deeds of the law there shall 
no flesh be justified. 1 The law requires perfect and perpetua 1 
obedience, and can be satisfied with nothing less. Law is convertea 
into mere advice, when its requirements are not obligatory. To 
claim the privilege of violating the law, or coming short of its 
requirements, is to claim, so far, exemption from its authority, and 
therefore from the moral government of God. Such exemption 
divine justice will not allow. Its language is, " Cursed is every 
one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book 
of the law to do them/' 2 " What things the law saith, it saith to 
them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, 
and all the world become guilty before God." 3 The view which 
is here presented of man's condition, relates not merely to his 
transgressions, but to his natural state. Hence it is said, " And 
were by nature the children of wrath." 4 So much has God the 
maintenance of his law at heart, that he who was in the bosom of 
the Father, and well understood all his counsels, has with solemnity 
assured us : " Verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one 
jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be ful 
filled." 5 

There is a method of rescue from condemnation ; but it is not 
one of man's devising or executing. To effect it required a display 
of wisdom, power and love, infinitely beyond the highest efforts of 
man. It is God's work, challenging the admiration of angels, and 
demanding gratitude, praise, and joyful acceptance from every 
human being. 

2. Men are unable to free themselves from depravity. 

The first element of this inability is seen in the fact that men 
lack the necessary disposition. By nature we love darkness rather 
than light, sin rather than holiness. To be free from depravity is 
to be holy, and no man can desire holiness or perfect conformity 
to the law of God, who does not delight in that law. But expe- 
perience and Scripture unite in teaching us that the carnal mind 
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 6 The 
cause of this exists in the fact, that the carnal mind is enmity 

1 Rom. iii. 20 2 Gal. iii. 10. 3 Rom. iii. 19. 4 Eph. ii. 3. 

1 Matt. v. 18. 6 Rom. viii. 7. 



170 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

against God. Men love the ways of transgression, and desire not 
the knowledge of God's ways ; and, therefore, they lack the dis- 
position necessary to free themselves from depravity, and render 
themselves strictly conformed to the law of God. 

Another element which renders the inability complete, is, that 
if men had the disposition, they have not the power. Men have 
the power to perform such external acts as the law of God requires 
of them. If they were wholly disposed to perform such acts, and 
failed through mere physical inability, that inability would be a 
valid excuse. God accepteth according to what a man hath. 1 We 
are commanded not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together ; 
but the man who is fastened to his bed by palsy is not required to 
meet in the house of God. Depravity does not consist in external 
acts, but belongs to the heart ; and the affections of the heart are 
not subject to volition, as the motions of the limbs are. Hence 
the Apostle says, "Ye cannot do the things that ye would." 2 
Every converted man knows the meaning of this language. The 
current of depraved affections in our hearts, which has been flowing 
in the wrong direction from the beginning of our being, and gather- 
ing strength by the power of habit, does not stop at our bidding. 
A volition cannot stop it with as much ease as when it moves a 
finger. If any man thinks he has the power to be holy at will, let 
him try it, and he will find his mistake. 

The inability last described, which is usually called moral, must 
be distinguished carefully from that physical inability which excuses 
outward acts. Physical inability would prevent the action, even 
if the whole heart were bent on performing it. It excuses the 
failure to act ; but it will not excuse a corrupt or a divided heart. 
The paralytic may be excused for not attending at the house of 
God ; but he is not excused for preferring to be absent, or for pos- 
sessing no longing for the courts of the Lord. The moral inability 
of men consists in having either a divided heart, or a heart fully 
set in them to do evil. The former every converted man laments, 
and blames himself for ; and the latter is descriptive of uncon- 
verted or natural men. This includes the lack, both of disposition 
and power, and renders the inability complete. This inability is 

1 2 Cor. viii. 12. 2 Gal. v. 17 



man's present state. 171 

not an excuse for the depravity, but is the depravity itself, in its 
full influence over all the powers of the soul. 

The Scripture representations of men's inability are exceedingly 
strong. They are said to be without strength, ] captives, 2 in bond 
age, 3 asleep, 4 dead, 5 &c. The act by which they are delivered from 
their natural state, is called regeneration, quickening or giving life, 
renewing, resurrection, translation, creation ; and it is directly as- 
cribed to the power of God, the power that called light out of dark- 
ness, and raised up Christ from the dead. 

Our views concerning our character and condition by nature are 
wholly incorrect, if we imagine that a little work, which we can 
effect at pleasure, will set all right. Thousands postpone the con- 
cerns of the soul from this vain imagination. A true sense of our 
inability would drive us to him who is able to save. 

CONCLUSION. 

A careless admission that men are sinners is often made by per- 
sons who give themselves little concern about religion ; and even 
acrimonious complaints may be freely vented by them against the 
iniquities of others. But such is the stupefying effect of human 
depravity, that men have very little complaint to make against 
themselves ; and their condition, as sinners against God, awakens 
very little uneasiness. Occasionally conscience may be aroused, 
and produce alarm ; but, through the deceitfulness of sin, its re- 
bukes and warnings become unheeded, and men are again lulled to 
sleep in carnal security. Until this fatal slumber is broken, and a 
thorough, deep-rooted conviction of. sin seizes the mind, and allows 
the man no quiet, his spiritual state exhibits no favorable indi- 
cations. 

Conviction of sin has sometimes produced very disquieting effects 
in the minds of heathen men, destitute of the true knowledge of 
God. Costly sacrifices and painful austerities have been resorted 
to for the purpose of appeasing their offended deities. Nature 
teaches men their danger, but cannot show them the way of escape. 
In these circumstances, how welcome is the light which the Bible 

1 Rom. v. 6. 2 2 Tim. ii. 26. 3 2 Pet. ii. 19 ; Rom vi. 16, 17. 

< 1 Thes. v. 6. 6 Eph. v. 14 ; Col. ii. 13. 



172 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

throws on our path ! It gives a far clearer discovery of our 
danger, and, at the same time, opens before us the door of hope. 

Conviction of sin may at first respect merely our overt acts of 
wickedness ; but, if thorough and effectual, it will extend to the 
depraved heart, from which evil actions proceed. It will open to 
our view this fountain of corruption, this deep sea casting up miro 
and dirt. To explore the deep windings of depravity, dark and 
filthy, we need the torch of revelation. Its use in making us ac- 
quainted with ourselves, demonstrates the divinity of its origin. 
The woman of Samaria said of Jesus, " Come see a man which 
told me all things that ever I did ; is not this the Christ V' 1 And 
the Bible, which tells us so exactly all that is in our hearts, must 
be from God, the Searcher of hearts. The world of iniquity within 
us was formerly to us a land unknown ; but we have now explored 
it in part, and we can testify that the only correct map of it is in 
the Holy Scriptures. As we make progress in the knowledge of 
ourselves, throughout our course of religious experience, what we 
read in our own hearts and what we read in the Bible agree per- 
fectly, and we ever carry with us a proof that the doctrine of the 
Bible is the truth of God. 

Many who profess to regard the Bible as a revelation from hea- 
ven, do not receive its doctrine concerning the present state of man. 
They cannot conceive the human heart to be so deceitful and des- 
perately wicked as the Bible declares it to be ; and especially they 
do not so conceive of their own hearts. We hence know that such 
men could not have written the Bible. When the light of truth 
has produced in us a thorough conviction of sin, we read the Bible 
with new eyes, and we discover in it the handwriting of him who 
said, "I the Lord search the heart." 2 

The exceeding sinfulness of sin appears when it is viewed as 
committed against God. David said, "Against thee, thee only, 
have I sinned." 3 While under genuine conviction of sin, a view of 
God's perfections renders the conviction overwhelming. To have 
sinned against so glorious and excellent a being ; to have rebelled 
against the rightful Sovereign of the universe, and aimed at de- 
throning him; to have violated his law, holy, just, and good; to 

1 John iv. 29. 2 Jer. xvii. 10. 3 Ps. li. 4. 



man's present state. 173 

have trampled his authority under our feet, insulted his majesty, 
despised the riches of his forbearance and goodness ; to have per- 
severed in our course, notwithstanding the calls of his mercy ; and, 
in spite of all his warnings and threatenings, to have, feeble worms 
as we are, defied his omnipotent vengeance : when such views of sin 
are presented, in the light of God's word, our souls are filled with 
anguish, and in the depth of sorrow and self-condemnation we adopt 
the publican's prayer, " God be merciful to me a sinner." 1 

The word of God, which pierces to the dividing asunder of soul 
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the 
thoughts and intents of the heart, 2 often gives pain by its probings, 
but their tendency is salutary. They are unwelcome to hypocrites 
and false professors ; but the man of sincere piety prays, " Search 
me, God, and know my heart ; try me, and know my thoughts ; 
and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me into the 
way everlasting." 3 The Bible tears the mask from the hypocrite, 
and shows to the Pharisee that all his righteousnesses are but filthy 
rags; 4 but, humiliating as these wholesome instructions are, the 
true penitent rejoices to receive them. He fears to be deceived ; 
and he blesses God for the light of truth, by which his true cha- 
racter is revealed. 

When men's eyes are opened to see their spiritual danger, they 
generally attempt, in their own strength, to work out their salva- 
tion. These efforts prove unavailing ; and they learn, by experi- 
ence, that they have no help in themselves. This truth, though 
clearly taught in the Bible, they never really believed until it was 
thus learned. Here arises, in the heart of Christian experience, 
another confirmation of Bible doctrine. A truth which no man 
sincerely believes until the Spirit of God has taught him, by inward 
experience, must have proceeded from God. In the whole progress 
of our spiritual life we become increasingly convinced of our utter 
helplessness and entire dependence on strength divine ; and the 
Bible doctrine on this subject acquires perpetually increasing con- 
firmation. 

Genuine Christian experience commences with conviction of sin ; 
but, blessed be God, it does not end here. The knowledge of our 

1 Luke xviii. 13. 2 Heb. iv. 12. 3 Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24. 4 Is. Ixiv. 6. 



174 THE FALL AND PRESENT STATE OF MAN. 

depravity, condemnation, and helplessness, would fill us with des- 
pair, were it not that salvation, precisely adapted to our necessities, 
has been provided by the mercy of God, and revealed in the gospel 
of his Son. The very truth, which would otherwise fill us with 
anguish and despair, prepares for the joyful acceptance of salvation 
by Christ. He who rejects this truth does not feel the need of 
Christ ; and, therefore, does not come to him for life. They that 
be whole need not a physician. 1 Let the truth of this chapter be 
received deep in the heart, and we shall be prepared for the pro- 
fitable study of the next subject. 

»Matt. ix. 12. 



BOOK FIFTH. 
DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST 



INTRODUCTION. 

DUTY OF BELIEVING IN JESUS CHRIST. 1 

In close connection with repentance for sin, the Word of God 
enjoins the duty of believing in Christ : " Repent ye, and believe 
the Gospel : 2 " Testifying repentance toward God, and faith in our 
Lord Jesus Christ. " 3 Both the duties relate to men as sinners, 
and without the performance of them, escape from the penalty of 
sin is impossible. The requirement of faith, in addition to repent- 
ance, proves that mere sorrow for sin will not suffice ; and the 
passages of Scripture are numerous in which faith is expressly 
declared to be necessary to salvation: "Preach the Gospel to 
every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved : 
but he that believeth not, shall be damned." 4 "Without faith it is 
impossible to please him." 5 " He that believeth on the Son hath 
everlasting life ; and he that believeth not, shall not see life ; but 
the wrath of God abideth on him." 6 "He that believeth not, is 
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of 
the only begotton Son of God." 7 



1 Acts xvi. 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. 
John ix. 35. Dost thou believe on the Son of God ? Who is he, that. I might 

believe on him ? 

2 Mark i. 15. 3 Acts xx. 21. * Mark xvi. 15, 16. 
6 Heb. xi. 6. & John iii. 36. 7 John iii. 18. 

(175) 



176 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

These clear proofs that faith is necessary to salvation, render it 
important to understand the nature of faith. And since the saving 
benefit does not result from every kind or exercise of faith, but 
only from faith in Christ, what it is to believe in Jesus Christ, is 
an inquiry of highest interest. 

Every one who reflects on the operations of his own mind, will 
perceive that faith lies at the foundation of every mental affection, 
and of every purpose to act. The testimony of our senses must 
be believed, before external objects can awaken any emotion in 
the mind ; and the uniformity of nature's laws, and the deductions 
of our reason, must be believed before we can resolve to shun a 
precipice, or to labor for a future crop. In the ordinary affairs 
of life, faith is the basis of action. The man who believes that 
his house is on fire, or that a rich treasure is buried under it, acts 
accordingly. It is equally true that faith lies at the foundation 
of every religious affection and of every religious duty. He who 
loves God, and delights in his will and works, must believe that he 
is, and that the will and works in which he delights are realities, 
and possess the qualities which his mind attributes to them. He 
who repents of sin, must believe that the sin of which he repents 
has been committed, and that it possesses the evil nature which he 
condemns and loathes. So, in everything else, faith is the foun- 
dation of all religion. 

In the view which has been taken, faith is merely intellectual, 
and does not imply any emotion, either pleasurable or painful. 
It may immediately excite emotions, pleasurable or painful, accord- 
ing to the character of the truth believed, and the state of mind 
in which it is received. The belief of one truth gives pleasure ; 
and another, pain; and the belief of the same truth may give 
pleasure to one mind and pain to another. So, the truth of God, 
which a man dislikes while he is unconverted, is delighted in after 
his heart has been changed. 

Faith, in this general sense, is necessary to the obedience of holy 
creatures, and mingles with all the holy exercises of their minds. 
But holy beings are incapable of repentance, because they have 
no sin to repent of: and they are unable to approach to God 
through Christ as guilty beings, seeking pardon. The Gospel 
addresses men as sinners, and presents Christ to them as the 



DUTY OF BELIEVING IN JESUS CHRIST. 177 

Saviour of sinners ; and the faith in Christ which it requires, is 
the receiving of the truth which it declares concerning Christ. 

Although faith may be contemplated as merely intellectual, and 
as antecedent to all emotion ; it is not, in this abstract view of 
it, that faith in Christ is enjoined in the Gospel, and has the 
promise of salvation. Men must receive " the love of the truth, 
that they may be saved," 1 as well as the truth itself. A merely 
intellectual faith, without the love of the truth believed, cannot 
produce the proper fruits of faith; for " faith worketh by love ;" 2 
and it cannot secure the blessings promised to faith ; for " with 
the heart man belie veth unto righteousness." 3 A faith which 
dwells exclusively in the intellect, and leaves the heart untouched 
and cold, is the dead faith which the apostle James describes. 4 

Faith in Christ, is faith in the declarations of the Gospel con- 
cerning Christ ; and it is faith in these as coming from God. It is 
the receiving of God's testimony concerning his Son ; and, in this 
view of it, we see the great sinfulness of unbelief; for he who 
believeth not, hath made God a liar. 5 We see, also, how firm 
a foundation is laid for strong faith. The Gospel is the Word 
of God that cannot lie. Our senses may deceive us ; and the 
deductions of our reason may be false. Relying on these, we may 
err, in things pertaining to the present life ; but, in laying hold on 
life eternal, we may believe the truth of God with unwavering 
confidence. His word cannot fail. 

Faith in Christ is necessary to salvation. We may believe 
many things that God has said in his Holy Word, without believ- 
ing in Christ; and we may believe many truths concerning Christ, 
without possessing that faith in him which has the promise of 
eternal life. True faith receives Christ entire, as he is presented 
in the Gospel. If any part of his character, of his offices, or of 
his doctrine, is unwelcome to the heart, true faith does not dwell 
there. A perfect knowledge of Christ is not necessary to true 
faith : otherwise true faith would be impossible : for the riches of 
Christ are unsearchable, 6 and his love passeth knowledge. 7 But 
the true believer delights in Christ, just so far as he has knowledge 

1 2 Thess. ii. 10. 2 Gal. v. 6. 3 Rom. x. 10. 

James ii. 26. 6 1 John v. 10. 6 Eph. iii. 8. 

» Eph. iii. 19. 
12 



178 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

of him ; and desires to know more of him, that he may be more 
filled with his love. The revelation made to the Old Testament 
saints was obscure ; but, so far as they could see Christ, in the 
light which was afforded them, they rejoiced to see his day and 
were glad. 1 

From the necessity of faith in Christ may be inferred the 
greatness of Christ's character. When. Jesus said, " If ye believe 
not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins," 2 he claimed an 
importance to which Isaiah or Paul could never have aspired. 
When the ministers of his religion taught, " There is none other 
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," 3 
they ascribed to him an office of exceeding greatness. If we 
believe in Christ, according to the Scriptures, we fully justify all 
that he claimed for himself, and all that his apostles claimed for 
him ; and we rejoice to render to him all honor and praise. 

We may consider the question proposed to us : " Dost thou 
believe on the Son of God ?" On the decision of this question 
our eternal all depends. As guilty sinners we are under condem- 
nation, and the wrath of God abides on us. Among all the beings 
in the universe, no deliverer can be found, except Jesus Christ, 
and there is no salvation possible, except by faith in him. It is, 
therefore, an inquiry of infinite importance whether we believe in 
him. The man, to whom the question was proposed by the Saviour, 
very pertinently asked in turn, " Who is he, that I might believe 
on him?" We are about to institute the inquiry, Who is he? 
While we search the Holy Scriptures, to find the answer, let us 
take heed to it that we believe in him with all our hearts. Let us 
rejoice to discover that he is mighty to save ; and that he is, in 
every particular, just such a Saviour as we need. While we study 
his character and works, let us receive him into our hearts, and 
yield ourselves up to him, as bought with his blood, and seek to 
glorify him with our bodies and spirits, which are his. 

1 John viii. 56. 2 John viii. 24. 8 Acts iv. 12. 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 179 



CHAPTER I. 

THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 
Section I.— HUMANITY. 

Jesus Christ was a man. 1 

The manner of Christ's conception was peculiar. Without a 
human father, he was conceived in the womb of his virgin mother, 
by the power of the Holy Ghost. How far the son of Mary, con- 
ceived in this peculiar manner, resembled the sons born of other 
mothers, in the ordinary mode of generation, and how far he dif- 
fered from them, we cannot certainly know from the circumstances 
of his conception. The divine power, which formed a man out of 
the dust of the ground, could also form a man in the womb of the 
virgin: but whether this extraordinary production should be a 
man, or a being of some other order, depended entirely on the will 
of God. For the knowledge of what Jesus Christ was, we are 
wholly indebted to the testimony concerning him given in the 
sacred Scriptures. 

The testimony of the inspired Word on this point is very explicit. 
Whatever else Jesus Christ may have been, he was certainly a 
man ; for so innumerable passages of Scripture declare. " Jesus 
of Nazareth, a man approved;" 2 "One mediator, the man Christ 
Jesus." 3 

Jesus Christ had a human body. His was not a mere shadowy 
form of humanity ; for, even after his resurrection, he said to his 
disciples, " Handle me and see me, for a spirit hath not flesh and 
bones, as ye see me have." 4 It was a real body that bore the 
weight of the cross, and was afterwards nailed to it. It was a real 
body that was pierced by the spear; and real blood and water 

1 John i. 14 ; Phil. ii. 7, 8 ; Heb. ii. 14-17 ; Mark ix. 12 ; 1 Tim. ii. 5 
Matt. i. 18-25 ; Luke i. 28-35 ; Gal. iv. 4 ; Matt. iv. 2 ; xxi. 18 ; John iv. 6, 10 
Matt. viii. 24 ; xxi. 18; Mark ix. 12 ; Isaiah liii. 3 ; John xi. 35 ; Luke xix. 41 
Matt. xxvi. 37, 38 ; Luke xxii. 44 ; Matt. iv. 1 ; Mark i. 13 ; Luke iv. 2 ; Heb. 
ii. 18 ; iv. 15 ; Luke ii. 10, 52 ; Matt. iv. 11 ; Luke xxii. 43 ; Mark xv. 34. 

2 Acts ii. 22. 8 1 Tim. ii. 5. * Luke xxiv. 39. 



180 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

issued from the wound. It was a real body that was embalmed 
with spices and laid in the tomb ; and that afterwards rose from 
the dead. This body was human. It had the appearance and 
organs common to human bodies ; was sustained by food, was sub- 
ject to hunger and weariness, and needed the rest of sleep, like 
the bodies of other men. 

Jesus Christ had a human soul. If the divine nature had dwelt 
in his body as a mere tabernacle of flesh, and supplied to it the 
place of a human soul, it could not have been said that " Jesus 
increased in wisdom." 1 The mere material fabric could have no 
wisdom, and the wisdom of the divine nature was not susceptible 
of increase. Nor was it some created spirit of angelic or super- 
angelic nature that animated his body. He was made in all things 
like his brethren f and he would not have been a brother, one of 
the family, made like the rest, if the spirit that dwelt in his human 
flesh had not also been human. Without this he would not have 
been a man. If he had not possessed a soul, he could not have 
said, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful;" 3 nor could it have been 
said, "When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." 4 And 
if his soul had not been human, it would not have been a suitable 
offering for the sin of human beings. He took not on him the 
nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham. 5 He must be made 
like those whose law-place he assumed, and for whom he made 
himself a sacrifice. 

The soul of Christ was unlike the souls of ordinary men, in being 
without the taint of sin. The mention of this exception proves 
more strongly the likeness in other respects. " He was in all 
points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." 6 Had the divine 
nature served as the soul of Christ, a statement of this exception 
would have been needless and inappropriate. Christ could be a 
man without being depraved ; for Adam was a man before he fell. 
In the comparison between Christ and Adam as public heads, 
Adam is called the first man, and Christ the second man, 7 The 
humanity of the latter is as real as that of the former. 

In the working of miracles God has shown that he is able to 



1 Luke ii. 52. 2 Heb. ii. 17. 3 Mark xiv. 34. 

4 Isaiah liii. 10. 5 Heb. ii. 16. 6 Heb. iv. 15. 

1 Cor. xv. 47. 



TliE PERSON OF CHRIST. 181 

suspend the laws of nature ; and he could have suspended that 
law of nature by which depraved parents generate depraved 
children. Had it been his pleasure, Jesus Christ might have had 
a human father as well as a human mother ; and have been, never- 
theless, without sin ; for with God all things are possible. But it 
was not the pleasure of God that he should be so born ; and the 
reason for his conception by the power of the Holy Ghost, is given 
in the words of the angel to his virgin mother : " Therefore, that 
holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of 
God." 1 Ordinary generation would have made him the son of man : 
but his generation was extraordinary, because he was also the son 
of God. The conception by the Holy Ghost did not give the off- 
spring an intermediate nature between the divine and the human, 
such as the demigods of the heathen were supposed to possess. In 
that case, Christ, as the son of God, would have been the son of the 
Holy Ghost, and not of the Father. But the Holy Spirit was the 
agent in preparing the body in which the sacrifice was to be made ; 
and such was the union between it and the divinity, that the name, 
Son of God, belonged to the entire person so constituted. 

Section II.— DIVINITY. 

Jesus Christ was God. 2 

As the humanity of Christ, conceived by the power of the Holy 
Ghost, could not be known but from the testimony of the Scrip- 
tures ; so his divinity, considering that he was born of a human 
mother, could not be known but from the testimony of the same 
unerring word. The conception by the Holy Ghost is sufficient to 
intimate that he was not to be an ordinary man ; and the declaration 
that, in consequence of it, he was to be called the Son of God, leads 
the mind to conceive that, in some sense, he was to partake of the 



1 Luke i. 35. 

2 Mic. v. 2 ; Heb. i. 8 ; xiii. 8; Rev. i. 8, 18 ; John ii. 24 ; x. 15 ; xxi. 17 ; 
Acts i. 24 ; Rev. ii. 23 ; Matt, xviii. 20 ; xxviii. 20 ; John i. 48 ; Col. ii. 3 ; 
Jude 25 ; Matt. iii. 17 ; Luke i. 35 ; x. 22 ; John v. 23 ; 1 John v. 20 ; Matt, 
xxviii. 19 ; Isaiah xl. 3 ; Zech. ii. 8, 10 ; iv. 8 ; Mai. iii. 1 ; Matt. iii. 3 ; 1 Cor. 
xv. 47 ; Rev. xix. 16 ; Isaiah ix. 6 ; John i. 1 ; Rom. ix. 5 ; 1 Tim. iii. 16 ; Heb. 
i. 8 ; 1 John v. 20 ; Phil. ii. 6 ; Matt, xxviii. 9 ; Luke xxiii. 42 ; Acts vii. 59 ; 
Rev. v. 12; John i. 3, 10; Col. i. 16; Heb. i. 10; Neh. ix. 



182 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

divine nature. Demigods, according to the heathen, had an 
intermediate nature between that of gods and men. But we have 
seen that Jesus Christ was properly a man, according to the testi- 
mony of the Scriptures ; and we have now to appeal to the same 
testimony to learn whether he was also properly God. 

The proofs on this point are abundant, and will be produced 
under several distinct heads. 

I. The names of God are ascribed to Jesus Christ. 

" The Word was God." 1 This testimony of the beloved disciple 
is the more important, because it was his design to inform us who 
his divine Master was. As he opens his First Epistle with an 
account of Jesus Christ, as the " eternal life which was with the 
Father," 2 so he opens his Gospel with an account of him as the 
Word which was with God, and which was God. The subsequent 
part of the chapter clearly shows that this Word became flesh, 3 
in the person of Jesus Christ, and the name Word is given else- 
where, by the same writer, to Jesus Christ. 4 Now it is incredible 
that the Gospel should open with a declaration which has misled 
its readers, in all ages, into a belief that Jesus Christ is God, if 
he were nothing more than a mere man. To no purpose has this 
apostle said most earnestly, " Little children, keep yourselves from 
idols," 5 if his own teachings are such as must inevitably lead to 
idolatry. His language is usually very plain and simple : but in 
this case it needs the torture of most ingenious criticism, if it does 
not teach the deity of Christ. He has written that we might 
believe in Christ, and, believing, might have life through his name ; 6 
but if he has so written as to lead our souls into the sin of idolatry, 
our faith must be to death rather than life. 

" Who is over all, God blessed for ever." 7 Christ is here called 
God ; not in some subordinate sense, but over all, and blessed for 
ever. His possession of human nature is signified in the phrase, 
" Of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came." In contrast with 
this, his divinity is distinctly brought to view. What he was, 
according to the flesh, is not all that he was ; but above that, he 



1 John i. 1. 2 1 John i. 3. 3 John i. 14. 

4 Rev. xix. 13. 5 1 John v. 21. 6 John xx. 31, 

7 Rom. ix. 5« 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 183 

was over all, God, blessed for ever. All the criticisms which have 
been tried on this text leave its testimony plain and decisive. 

" My Lord and my God." 1 These words of Thomas are a brief, 
but very expressive declaration of his faith; and were so received 
by his Master : " Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast 
believed." 2 So, the unfolding of Christ's true character to the 
mind of Nathaniel, drew forth his declaration of faith, " Thou art 
the Son of God. 3 So this confession of Thomas was elicited by 
the opening of the Saviour's character to his mind. Both of them 
were doubtless taught by the same Spirit which revealed Christ's 
character to Peter; 4 and the faith of both was accepted, and 
publicly approved. If Christ had not been God, it behoved him 
to correct his disciple, and save him from idolatry. 

" Thy throne, God, is for ever." 5 In this place, as in the first 
chapter of John, the inspired writer is designedly stating who Jesus 
Christ was. He has represented him as superior to the prophets, 
by whom God spake in times past to the fathers ; — as superior to 
the angels ; — as the proper object of angelic worship ; — and finally 
closes the account with quotations from the Old Testament, applied 
to him, in which he is called God, and Lord, and said to have 
made the heavens and earth, and to endure for ever. If he was 
not God, Paul was mistaken. 

To these texts in which the name God is applied to Jesus Christ, 
we may add the following : " The Church of God, which he hath 
purchased with his own blood." 6 " God was manifest in the flesh." 7 
"We are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ; this 
is the true God, and eternal life." 8 "So then every one of us 
must give account of himself to God ; " 9 compared with the 
preceding verse. " He that built all things, is God," 10 considered 
in connection with the context, which shows that the Son is the 
builder here intended. 

Several other passages may be cited as pertinent examples, if 
the translation of them, given in our common English version, be 
amended. " The appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus 



1 John xx. 28. 2 John xx. 29. 3 John i. 49. 

4 Matt. xvi. 17. , 6 Heb. i. 8. 6 Acts xx. 28. 

7 1 Tim. iii. 16. 8 1 John v. 20. 9 Rom. xiv. 12. 

10 Heb. iii. 4. 



184 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

Christ." 1 " The grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ." 2 " In 
the kingdom of the Christ and God," i. e. of him who is both 
Christ and God. 3 "Before the God and Lord, Jesus Christ." 4 
"The righteousness of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ." 1 
These emendations of the translation are not made arbitrarily, but 
are required by a rule of criticism, founded on the usage of Greek 
writers, as to the repetition of the article, when prefixed to two 
nouns connected by a conjunction. 

II. The attributes of God are ascribed to Jesus Christ. 

Eternity. — In a prediction concerning him by Isaiah, it is said : 
" His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, 
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." 6 The phrase 
"Everlasting Father" may be rendered the Father of Eternity. 
Were this name given to him by erring men, we might suppose it 
inappropriate : but it is given to him by the infallible Spirit that 
spoke in the ancient prophets. In another prophecy concerning 
him, it is said : " Whose goings forth have been from of old, from 
everlasting." 7 We know that this prophecy referred to Christ; 
for it is expressly applied to him in Matt. ii. 6. In the book of 
Proverbs, ch. viii., Wisdom is introduced, saying : " I was set up 
from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. * * 
Then I was with him, as one brought up with him ; and I was daily 
his delight, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable 
part of the earth ; and my delights were with the sons of men." 8 
The most consistent interpretation of this passage, applies it to 
Christ, the Eternal Word, who is called " the Power of God, and 
the Wisdom of God." 9 To these passages, we may add the words 
of Christ: "Before Abraham was, I am." 10 As his human nature 
was not fifty years old, these words could not refer to it. They 
attribute existence to him of more ancient date than the time of 
Abraham ; and, in affirming that pre-existence, the present tense, 
I am, is employed. This very extraordinary mode of speaking, 
agrees precisely with Old Testament language, describing the 
self-existent Jehovah : " I am that I am." " I am hath sent me." 11 



1 Titus ii. 13. 2 2 Thess. i. 12. « Eph. \ . 5. 

4 1 Tim. v. 21. 5 2 Peter i. 1. 6 Isaiah ix. 6. 

7 Micah v. 2. 8 Prov. viii. 23-31. 9 1 Cor. i. 24. 

10 John viii. 58. u Ex. iii. 14. 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 185 

The Jews who heard Jesus speak thus concerning himself, under- 
stood him to claim divinity; and if he did not design to do so, it 
is undeniable that he employed language well calculated to mislead 
them. 

Immutability. — " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and 
for ever." 1 " They shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a 
vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but 
thou art the same." 2 

Omnipresence. — Christ promised to be with his disciples always, 
even to the end of the world, 3 and, not only at all times, but at all 
places : " Where two or three are met together in my name, there 
am I in the midst of them." 4 To fulfill this promise, he must be 
omnipresent. The same is implied in the words, " No man hath 
ascended up to Heaven, but he that came down from Heaven, even 
the Son of man which is in Heaven." 5 His body was on earth, 
when he spoke these words ; and yet he declares himself to be in 
Heaven. This could not be true, if he were not omnipresent. 

Omniscience. — Jesus knew the thoughts of men, even while shut 
up in their own breasts. Other prophets had this knowledge com- 
municated to them, by special revelation, on particular occasions ; 
but Jesus had his knowledge at all times. " He knew all men, 
and needed not that any one should testify of man ; for he knew 
what was in man." 6 To know the secrets of the heart, belongs 
peculiarly to Jehovah. ' " Who can know it ? I, the Lord, search 
the heart." 7 Yet the power of searching the heart, is expressly 
ascribed to Jesus. "I am he which searcheth the reins and 
hearts." 8 Peter appealed to Christ, as knowing the secrets of his 
heart, and expressly ascribes omniscience to him. " Lord, thou 
knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love thee." 9 Christ claimed 
omniscience in the words, u No man knoweth the Son, but the 
Father, neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and 
he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." 10 Without omniscience, 
Christ would not be qualified to judge the world. 

Omnipotence. — Paul, feeling his own weakness, desired the 
power of Christ to rest upon him ; n and he conceived of that power 

1 Heb. xiii. 8. 2 Heb. i. 11, 12. 3 Matt, xxviii. 20. 

4 Matt, xviii. 20. 6 John iii. 13. 6 John ii. 25. 

7 Jer. xvii. 10. 8 Rev. ii. 23. 9 John xxi. 17. 

10 Matt. xi. 29. u 2 Cor. xii. 9. 



186 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

as infinite, when he said : " I can do all things, through Christ 
which strengtheneth me." 1 The omnipotence of Christ is manifested 
in the works which he performs, of which we shall presently speak 
more particularly. He claimed like omnipotence with the Father : 
" My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." 2 " What things soever 
the Father doeth, these also the Son doeth likewise." 3 "Neither shall 
any man pluck them out of my hand. No man is able to pluck 
them out of my Father's hand." 4 In the prophecy already quoted 
from Isaiah, he is called "the Mighty God;" and in Rev. i. 8-11, 
he is called " the Almighty." 

III. Divine works are ascribed to Christ. 

Creation. — "All things were made by him, and without him was 
not anything made that was made." 5 " By him all things were 
created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and 
invisible." 6 We may admit, that the word "by" frequently denotes 
an instrument used in a work ; but this is not its invariable meaning. 
It is applied to God the Father. " It became him, of whom are 
all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to 
glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through 
suffering." 7 If Christ was a created instrument, used in the creation 
of everything else, he was himself created without such instru- 
mentality, and the words of John were not true, " Without him 
was not anything made that was made." God created all things by 
Jesus Christ, 8 not as a mere instrument, or as an inferior agent ; 
otherwise it could not be said, "All things were created by him 
and for him." 9 An inferior agent, employed to do a work, performs 
it not for himself, but for the superior who employs him. The Son 
co-operated with the Father in the work of creation, as supreme 
God. The word "by" implies no inferiority. When it is said 
of Christ, he by himself purged our sins, 10 himself does not denote 
an agent inferior to Christ. 

Providence. — All things are kept in being by the power of 
Christ, and he must, therefore, be God. " Upholding all things 
by the word of his power." 11 All the powers of the universe are 



1 Phil. iv. 13. 2 John v. 17. 3 John v. 19. 

4 John x. 27, 28. 5 John i. 3. ' 6 Col. i. 16. 

T Heb. ii. 10. 8 Eph. iii. 9. 9 Col. i. 16. 

10 Heb. i. 3 n Heb. i. 3. 



THE PERSON OF C II FIST. 137 

under his management, and therefore ail the workings of providence 
are directed by him. 

Giving of life. — Christ raised the dead to life during his personal 
ministry, not as prophets and apostles did, in the name and by the 
power of another. The apostles wrought miracles, not by their 
own power, but in the name of Jesus Christ. 1 Jesus, on the 
contrary, claimed the power which he exercised in the working of 
miracles. " The Son quickeneth whom he will." 2 He claimed to 
exercise his power, both in the quickening of souls dead in sin, and 
in the resurrection of the body. " The hour is come, and now is, 
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they 
that hear shall live." 3 " The hour is coming in the which all that 
are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth." 4 
The power of raising the dead, is attributed by Paul to Christ, and 
is called the working whereby he is able to subdue all things to 
himself. 5 

IV. Numerous passages of the Old Testament, which unques- 
tionably speak of Jehovah, the Supreme God, are, in the New 
Testament, applied to Jesus Christ. Isaiah vi. 3, compared with 
John xii. 41 ; Isaiah xl. 3, compared with Matt. iii. 1, 3 ; Isaiah xlv. 
21-23, compared with Phil. ii. 9-11 ; Zach. xii. 10, compared with 
John xix. 37. 

V. Divine worship was commanded to be rendered, and was 
rendered, to Jesus Christ. The angels were commanded to worship 
him. " When he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he 
saith: 'Let all the angels of God worship him.' " 6 Men are com- 
manded to believe in him, trust in him, which are acts of divine 
worship. This has more force when compared with the declaration : 
" Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his 
arm." 7 Christ permitted himself to be worshipped as the Son of 
God. 8 He was worshipped by his disciples, after his ascension to 
Heaven. 9 They were accustomed to call on his name, 10 that is, to 
address prayer to him. So the dying Stephen prayed : " Lord 
Jesus, receive my spirit." 11 The administering or receiving of 

1 Acts iii. 12 ; iv. 10. 2 John v. 21. 3 John v. 25. 

* John v. 28, 29. * Phil. iii. 21. 6 Heb. i. 6. 

7 Jer. xvii. 5. 8 John ix. 38. 9 Luke xxiv. 52. 

10 Acts ix. 14. u Acts vii. 59. 



188 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

baptism in his name, is an act of religious worship, in which he is 
honored equally with the Father, and the Holy Spirit. 1 

VI. The equality of the Son with the Father, is taught by Paul, 
in Phil. ii. 9. His example, in humbling himself, and taking on 
himself the form of a servant, is proposed for our imitation ; but 
there was no humiliation in his taking on himself the form of a 
servant, if that had been the only character that he could rightfully 
assume. But he had a right to claim equality with God, and this 
fact showed the greatness of his humiliation. A parallel passage 
is found in 2 Cor. viii. 9 : " Though he was rich, for our sakes he 
became poor." 

VII. If Jesus Christ was not God, he was justly condemned to 
death. 

It is difficult to state and unfold this argument, without an 
appearance of irreverence. To charge the divine Jesus with crime, 
even hypothetically, is grating to the feelings of those who love 
and adore him. But it must be remembered that he who is, by 
this argument, proved to be chargeable with crime, is the Jesus of 
another gospel, a mere man, whose character and conduct are to 
be judged like those of other men. 

Jesus was condemned to death by the Jewish Sanhedrim. That 
council reported to Pilate, " We have a law, and by our law he 
ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." 2 On a 
former occasion, Jesus said unto them : " My Father worketh 
hitherto, and I work." 3 And they charged him with blasphemy, 
because he made God his [own] Father, thereby making himself 
equal with God. It was in this peculiar sense that the charge of 
making himself the Son of God was construed, or it would not have 
amounted to blasphemy. The high priest who was the president 
of the council, put Christ on his oath, "I adjure thee by the living 
God;" 4 and propounded to him two questions which, though men- 
tioned together by Matthew and Mark, are by Luke stated as 
proposed separately. "Art thou the Christ?" and "Art thou the 
Son of God?" It was the affirmative reply of Jesus to the last 
of these questions, which was the ground of his condemnation. 
Jesus knew the sense in which the question was propounded; and 

1 Matt, xxviii. 19. 2 John xix. 7. 

3 John v. 17. 4 Matt. xxvi. 62. 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 189 

he was bound, on correct principles of morals, in answering the 
question, to answer it honestly and truly in the sense in which he 
knew that the high priest meant it. He therefore affirmed on oath, 
at that tribunal, that he was the Son of God, in this high sense. 
For this he was condemned to death ; and if he was not what he 
claimed to be, he was guilty of perjury and of his own death. On 
this charge he was condemned to death, by the Council, but God 
justified him by raising him from the dead. " Declared to be the 
Son of God, with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the 
resurrection from the dead." 1 This proved that his condemnation 
was unjust ; and that he was truly what he had claimed to be, the 
Son of God, in the sense which the Jews accounted blasphemy. 

The last argument exhibits the importance of this doctrine in a 
strong light. According to the law of Moses, any one who enticed 
to idolatry was to be punished with death. 2 The council before 
which Jesus was tried, was the court which had cognisance of this 
offence. A mere man, who should claim divine honor to himself, 
was guilty of this capital crime ; and although the Romans had 
taken away from the Jews the power of inflicting capital punish- 
ment, the council might, with perfect propriety, report to the 
governor concerning such a man, " By our law he ought to die." 
This was their decision, as reported to Pilate, concerning Jesus ; 
and, if he was not entitled to the divine honor which he claimed, 
the decision was just. 

Two accusations were brought against Jesus. Before the Roman 
governor he was charged with treason against Caesar, by making 
himself king. Into this accusation the governor inquired, asking 
Jesus, " Art thou a king?" Jesus answered in the affirmative, as 
m the other case : but, that he might not convict himself of a 
crime of which he was not guilty, he explained, "My kingdom is 
not of this world." 3 His reply was satisfactory to the governor, 
who acquitted him on this charge. In the other case he not only 
claimed to be the Son of God, but accompanied the claim with no 
explanation, to prevent the passing of the sentence. He might 
have said, I am the Son of God, but not in such a sense as to 
claim divine honor. He made no such explanation. If Jesus was 
not entitled to divine honor, he knew it ; and he knew also that 

1 Rom. i. 4. 2 Deut. xiii. 6, 8. 3 John xviii. 36. 



190 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

he deserved death, under the decision of this court, for claiming 
it. To make the claim before the court, was to be guilty of the 
crime. To answer as he did, on oath, if he did not mean to make 
the claim, was perjury. And to permit the sentence against him 
to pass, without any effort to explain, was to be guilty of his own 
death. It follows, therefore, that Jesus Christ, if not entitled to 
divine honor, was a wicked man and a deceiver. 

We might suppose the possibility of mistake, concerning Christ's 
claim of divine honor before the court that condemned him, if he 
had habitually disclaimed such honor in his previous ministry. 
But, instead of this, he had taught, " It is the will of God, that 
all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." 1 
He claimed superiority to the law of the Sabbath, and the right of 
working every day, as his Father did : " My Father worketh hith- 
erto, and I work." 2 He claimed to have been before Abraham, in lan- 
guage which appropriately intimates self-existence : " Before Abra- 
ham was, I am." 3 He claimed to be one with the Father: "I 
and my Father are one." 4 Moreover, he never rejected divine 
honor, when offered him. Paul and Barnabas, at Lystra, indig- 
nantly repelled those who approached to do them honor as gods ; 5 
and the angel hastily prevented John from worshipping him : " See 
thou do it not. Worship God." 6 When the people were minded 
to take him by force, and make him king, he escaped from them. 
He refused to be "a judge or divider," 7 and declined all civil 
honor, in perfect consistence with his disclaimer of it before Pilate. 
But in equal consistence with his claim of divine honor before the 
Sanhedrim, he never rejected it when offered by any one. The 
man to whom he had given sight worshipped him as the Son of 
God, 8 without rebuke ; and Thomas addressed him, " My Lord and 
my God;" not only without rebuke, but with approbation. 9 To 
all this we may add, that the disciples to whom he taught the prin- 
ciples of his religion, and who believed that they had the mind of 
Christ, were accustomed to render him divine honor. Many 
proofs of his deity have been cited above, from their writings. 
That Paul did not consider him a mere man, is most clear from 

1 John v. 23. 2 John v. 17. 3 John viii. 58. 

* John x. 30. 5 Acts xiv. 15. 6 Rev. xxii. 9. 

7 Luke xii. 14. 8 John ix. 38. 9 John xx. 28, 29. 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 191 

Gal. i. 1 : Paul an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by 
Jesus Christ;" and the whole tenor of his writings shows, that he 
felt such obligations to Christ, and reposed such trust in him, 
as are utterly inconsistent with the belief that he was a mere 
creature. 

From these facts, we must believe that the deity of Christ is an 
essential doctrine of Christianity. As there can be no religion 
without the existence of God ; so there can be no Christian creed 
in which the doctrine of Christ's deity is not a fundamental article. 

But, clear, and abundant as the proofs on this subject are, the 
humble inquirer into the truth as it is in Jesus, is sometimes per- 
plexed with difficulties respecting it. The more common of these 
it will be proper briefly to consider. 

Obj. 1. This doctrine is inconsistent with the Unity of God. 
This objection will be considered hereafter, under the head of " The 
Trinity." 

Obj. 2. In various passages Jesus Christ is spoken of as distinct 
from God, and sometimes in such a manner as seems to deny his 
proper deity. 

Before we proceed, under this head, to examine particular pas- 
sages, we may premise that the Scriptures speak of a two-fold 
connection between the Godhead and the man Jesus Christ — a 
personal union and an indwelling. The personal union is not with 
the whole Godhead, but with one person or subsistence therein. 
It was not the whole Godhead that was made flesh ; but the Word 
that was with God, and was God. God sent forth, not the whole 
Godhead, but his Son, made of a woman. 1 On the other hand, 
the indwelling is of the whole Godhead. In him dwelleth all the 
fullness of the Godhead bodily. 2 The Father dwelt in him, 3 and 
the Spirit was given to him without measure. 4 This indwelling did 
not make him one person with the Father and the Holy Spirit. 
His body was a temple for the whole Godhead. As the Holy 
Ghost, in the prophets, was distinct from the prophets; so the 
Godhead, dwelling in Jesus Christ, was distinct from the person 
of Jesus Christ. 

John xvii. 3. " This is life eternal, that they might know thee 



1 Gal. iv. 4. • 2 Col. ii. 9. 

3 John xiv. 10. * John iii. 34. 



192 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

the only true God; and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." The 
Father is here addressed, as the representative of the Godhead. 
The Godhead that sent Christ is distinct from the person of Jesus 
Christ ; but the person sent was nevertheless divine. His divinity, 
though not affirmed in the passage, may be inferred from the fact 
that the knowledge of him was necessary to eternal life. 

1 Cor. viii. 6. " To us there is but one God, the Father, of 
whom are all things, and we in him ; and one Lord Jesus Christ, 
by whom are all things, and we by him." Here, again, the Father 
is the representative of the entire Godhead, which is in him, as 
the object of ultimate worship, and is one. " Of whom are all 
things." The same Godhead is in Jesus Christ as the medium of 
manifestation. "By whom are all things." This text does not 
affirm that Jesus Christ is a divine person ; but his qualification to be 
universal Lord implies it. This text no more denies Jesus Christ 
to be God, than it denies the Father to be Lord. 

In the same manner other similar passages may be explained. 

Obj. 3. The various passages which speak of Jesus Christ as 
inferior to the Father, as sent by the Father, and as working by 
the power of the Father, appear to deny his proper deity. 

The explanation of all these passages is given by Paul in Phil, 
ii. 5-8. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus ; 
who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal 
with God ; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him 
the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ; and 
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became 
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." 

The Son of God, though truly divine, and entitled to divine 
honor, humbled himself; and, by his union with human nature, 
was made under the law. He was not originally under the law, 
but was made under it. Hence we read of his inferiority to the 
Father, hi3 subjection to the Father's authority, &c. Inferiority 
of office does not require inferiority of nature. A subject is infe- 
rior in authority to his king ; though he is equal to him in nature, 
and may surpass him in intellectual and moral worth. Jesus 
Christ is inferior to the Father in his human nature, and his medi- 
atorial office ; but in his divine nature he is God over all. 

Obj. 4. Jesus Christ appears, in Luke xviii. 19, to admit that 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 193 

he had not the goodness peculiar to God ; and, in Mark xiii. 32 
to deny that he had omniscience. 

"Why callest thou me good? none is good save one, that is 
God." These words are a question. Questions sometimes imply 
strong affirmation ; but, in such cases, the reason of asking them 
must be apparent. In the present case there is nothing in the 
whole context indicating that it was Christ's design to explain his 
own character ; and we may therefore conclude that the question 
was asked for another purpose. The young ruler thought himself 
to be a good man, and addressing Christ as another good man, 
from whom he was willing to receive instruction, asked, in the 
spirit of self-righteousness, "What good thing shall I do?" 1 The 
whole of Christ's discourse with this young man was designed to 
convince him of his self-righteousness, and the question with which 
it commenced was precisely adapted to this purpose. It was cal- 
culated to lead his mind to the humbling reflection that all human 
goodness, such as he trusted in, and such as he had attributed to 
Christ, was insignificant and worthless when brought into compari- 
son with God. Whether divine goodness belonged to Jesus Christ 
is here neither affirmed nor denied. This question the ruler never 
thought of, and Christ made no reference to it, and said nothing 
about it. 

Mark xiii. 32. " Of that day and that hour knoweth no man ; 
no, not the angels of heaven ; neither the Son, but my Father 
only." This passage must be explained in harmony with other 
Scriptures. Were Gen. xviii. 21 the only passage of Scripture 
from which we could learn anything respecting the extent of God's 
knowledge, we should conclude that it is not unlimited ; and, in like 
manner, if Mark xiii. 32 were the only text from which we could 
learn the extent of Christ's knowledge, we should infer that he is 
not omniscient. But the proofs of his omniscience, as before 
adduced, are so abundant, that we are obliged to seek an explana- 
tion of this passage which shall be consistent with them. When 
we consider that it was the spirit of Christ in the ancient prophets, 
that enabled them to make their numerous predictions — that he 
personally predicted so many things, and so much in particular 
concerning this very day, 2 and that this day is emphatically called 



1 Matt. xix. 16. 2 Phil. i. 6. 

13 



194 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

the day of Christ, the day of the Lord, 1 it seems improbable that 
he should be wholly ignorant of the time of its coming. He 
describes himself as a lord, coming unexpectedly on his servants 
after a season of absence. Now, although we can see a propriety 
that the servants should not know when their lord would come, no 
reason appears why the lord himself should not know it. These 
facts, therefore, favor an interpretation of the passage which will 
be consistent with the doctrine of Christ's omniscience. 

The most obvious method of interpreting the passage in harmony 
with other Scriptures, is to suppose that it refers to the knowledge 
which Christ's humanity possessed. In this nature he was not 
omniscient ; for it is said 2 that Jesus increased in wisdom. The 
Holy Spirit communicated to his human soul, from time to time, 
such knowledge as was necessary ; but not all knowledge, for 
human nature could not be made omniscient. There is, however, 
an objection to this interpretation, on the ground that Christ 
could not, with truth, deny of himself any knowledge which either 
nature possessed. This objection would be embarrassing, if it 
were not true that Christ, in the passage, has placed his know- 
ledge and that of his Father in contrast. In the same manner he 
has denied omnipotence of himself, in John v. 30 ; not absolutely, 
but as distinct from his Father. "I can, of mine own self, do 
nothing." In the same verse, he, in the same sense, speaks of 
himself as without omniscience also : " As I hear, I judge." The 
question, "When shall these things be?" was proposed by the 
disciples 3 to Christ as visible before them in his human nature. 
It was not proper that they should receive an answer ; for it was 
intended that they should watch : " Watch ye therefore ; for ye 
know not when the master of the house cometh." 4 As the human 
nature of Christ was the medium through which the disciples 
received their instruction, and as this was one of the times and 
seasons which the Father had reserved in his own power, 5 we may 
suppose that the Holy Spirit had not communicated, and the holy 
humanity of Jesus had not sought this knowledge, which was 
unnecessary to any of the purposes of his present ministry. In 
this view it was well calculated to check the inquisitiveness of his 

1 Cor. v. 5. 2 Luke ii. 52. 3 Mark xiii. 4. 

4 Mark xiii. 35. 5 Acts i. 7. 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 195 

disciples into this matter which it was not the will of God that 
they should know, for him to inform them, that though the infinite 
stores of his Father's knowledge were ever accessible to him, he 
had not chosen, in his distinct character, in which he revealed the 
counsels of God to them, to inquire into the matter, and could not, 
therefore, communicate to them the knowledge which their unpro- 
fitable curiosity led them to desire. 

Some have thought it a more satisfactory solution of the diffi- 
culty to take the word know in the sense to make known. This 
sense it is alleged to have in 1 Cor. ii. 2 ; but this may be doubted. 
It seems more proper to regard the language as a common 
rhetorical figure, according to which the cause is put for the effect. 
So David said, " I was dumb ;" x meaning, " I was as silent as if I 
had been dumb." So Paul determined, in his ministry among the 
Corinthians, to be as though he knew nothing but Christ crucified. 
In the same manner, the words of Christ may be interpreted as if 
he had said, " Your inquiries into the precise time of my coming 
will all be in vain. No source of information will be available, to 
give you this knowledge. As to the effect, it will be to you as if 
the knowledge were possessed by none but the Father ; who will 
make it known, not by the ministry of men, angels, or his Son ; 
but by his own hand, in the execution of his purpose." 

The two views of this passage which have been presented, differ 
somewhat from each other ; but the inquirer is not bound to decide 
on their comparative merit, or to accept either as unquestionably 
correct. A perfect understanding of every difficult text, though 
desirable, is not indispensable to the exercise of piety. 

Obj. 5. Jesus Christ is called " the beginning of the creation 
of God;" and "the firstborn of every creature." These passages, 
while they attribute a high character to him, nevertheless speak 
of him as a creature. 

Rev. iii. 14. "The beginning of the creation of God." This 
text may be explained by others in the same book : Rev. i. 8 ; 
xxi. 6 ; xxii. 13. When Jesus Christ is called " the beginning and 
the end, the first and the last," we are not to understand that he 
was created before other creatures, and that other creatures will 
be annihilated, leaving him to survive them. The sense is, that 

1 Ps. xxxix. 9. 



19t) DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

all things are from him and to him ; or, as Paul says, " All things 
were created by him and for him." 1 He is the original and the first 
cause of all things. His being the beginning, is explained " He 
is before all things." In this sense he is the beginning of the 
creation of God, L e. its original cause. 

Col i. 15. " The first born of every creature." The clause " first 
bor.n of every creature," may be grammatically construed in two 
different ways. The genitive "of every creature" may be gov- 
erned by the word " first born," as a noun ; or by the word " first," 
as an adjective of the superlative degree in composition. The 
objection assumes that the last of these is the true construction. 
Having decided on this, it then infers that Christ is one of the 
creatures, because the superlative degree usually compares one 
thing of a group with the rest of that group. But this usage of 
the superlative, though general, is not invariable : for this same 
word "first" is twice used in the first chapter of John, 2 where the 
comparison is of a different kind, and our translators have, on this 
account, rendered the word as if it had been in the comparative, 
instead of the superlative degree : " He was before me." In proof 
that Paul did not design to group Christ with the creatures, as 
one of them, the following arguments may be adduced. The 
descriptive terms employed do not accord with this supposition. 
To make him one of the group, Christ should have been called the 
first created of all creatures, or the first born of all born : but the 
distinction between being born and being created, excludes him 
from the group of creatures. 

2. There is a further incongruity in the use of the word 
"every." We could not say, Solomon was the wisest of every 
man. Yet the objection makes Paul use this mode of speech. It 
is true that this incongruity may be in part removed by translating 
the clause thus : " the first born of all creation." But even this 
would not naturally express the idea supposed to be intended. A 
plural noun is needed, to denote the group of which Christ is sup- 
posed to be one of the constituent parts. 

3. The context proves that Paul did not design to compare 
Christ with created things, as one of the number. He says, " All 
things were created by him and for him ; and he is before all 

1 Col. i. 16. 2 John i. 15, 30. 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 197 

things, and by him all things consist." 1 This language clear Ij 
excludes him from the number of created things. 

If we admit that the genitive is governed by the adjective, the 
arguments adduced should satisfy us that the adjective must be 
understood, as in the places referred to in the first chapter of 
John. But the construction, which takes the genitive to be gov- 
erned by the noun, is preferable. According to this, we may 
translate the clause, "the whole creation's first born." God said, 
"I will make him my first born, higher than the kings of the 
earth." 2 The term "first born" here denotes superiority of dig- 
nity, in comparison with the kings of the earth. To the first born 
belonged, not only superior dignity, but superior right of inherit- 
ance. Christ, as the Son, was appointed "heir of all things." 3 
In respect both of dignity and inheritance, he is " the creation's 
first born," the king and heir of the whole creation. 

From the fact that the same Greek word is used in v. 18, some 
have supposed that this verse is explanatory of the former, and 
that Christ is the first born of every creature, because he is the 
first born from the dead. Others, by accenting the Greek word in 
v. 15 on a different syllable, make it to signify "first begetter," 
or "first producer." 

Some, who admit the proper deity of Christ, suppose that his 
human soul was created before all other creatures, and continued 
without a human body until the incarnation in the womb of the 
virgin. But, according to this opinion, Christ was not " made 
like his brethren." Moreover, as that human soul, being a crea- 
ture, must have been under law to God from the beginning of its 
existence, it was not true that he was made under the law, when 
he was made of a woman, as is taught in Gal. iv. 4. We have 
seen that the texts do not require such a hypothesis to explain 
them. 

Obj. 6. Jesus, in John x. 35, 36, explained his use of the phrase, 
"Son of God," as not implying proper deity. "If he called 
them gods unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture 
cannot be broken ; say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified 
and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest ; because I said, I am 
the Son of God?" 

1 Col I 16, 17. 2 Ps. lxxxix. 27. 3 Heb. i. 2. 



193 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

As this objection opposes a very strong argument for the divinity 
of Christ, it will be proper to give it a careful examination. 

In examining the tenth chapter of John, in which these words 
are found, we may observe the following facts : 

1. The claim to be the Christ was not that on which the charge 
of blasphemy was founded. 

While Jesus was walking in Solomon's porch, the Jews gathered 
round him, and asked, " How long makell thou us to doubt ? If 
thou be the Christ, tell us plainly." They had asked John the Bap- 
tist, " Art thou the Christ?" The Jews were in expectation that 
their Messiah would make his appearance about this time ; and, 
from the manner in which these questions were proposed, it is 
plain that the claim to be the Christ could not necessarily be blas- 
phemous. It only needed to be sustained by proper proof, and 
the proposing of the question intimated a readiness to admit the 
claim. Jesus did not directly answer their question, but charged 
them with rejecting the testimony which he -had previously given 
concerning himself, and the proofs which he had adduced. All 
this they bore, without charging him with blasphemy. 

2. The charge of blasphemy was founded on the claim to be the 
Son of God. 

This point is clear from the words of Christ, " Say ye, Thou 
blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?" He had 
spoken of God as his Father in a peculiar relation, according to 
which he could say, " I and my Father are one." This was said 
after such declarations concerning the power by which his sheep 
were kept, as represented himself omnipotent as well as his Father. 
His oneness with the Father was, therefore, such a unity as im- 
plied his possession of divine attributes. So the Jews understood 
him; and this they distinctly declared to be the ground of their 
charge : "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy ; 
because thou being a man, makest thyself God." On a former 
occasion they had made out the same charge against him on the 
same ground. He had spoken of God as his father in a peculiar 
sense, which implied co-operation with the Father, beyond what 
a mere creature could claim ; and they who heard him, under- 
standing the high claim which he set up, charged him with blas- 
phemy, because " he called God his Father, making himself equal 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 199 

with God." 1 It was precisely on this ground that he was reported 
to Pilate, by the Jewish Sanhedrim, as worthy of death : " By oui 
law, he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." 2 
They also reported to Pilate that " he made himself Christ a 
king ;" but they do not say that for so doing he deserved to die 
by their law. They said, " Whosoever maketh himself a king 
speaketh against Cassar." 3 This was an offence of which the 
Roman law might take cognisance, and which Pilate might judge ; 
but the other offence was a sin of which the Roman law would 
take no cognisance. The charge of blasphemy was investigated 
by the Jewish court, and was not made out on the claim to be 
" Christ a king." 

3. Jesus knew that the charge of blasphemy would be left with- 
out foundation, if he should explain that, in claiming divine Son- 
ship, he did not mean to claim divine attributes or*honors. 

The charge of blasphemy was, for making himself God, and 
equal with God. Now, the Jews called God their Father ; and 
believers and angels are called sons of God. To claim sonship in 
this sense could not be blasphemy. Jesus knew all this, and 
showed himself able to avail himself of the plea which might be 
based on this distinction. He referred to the Scripture use of the 
term " gods," in its application to Hebrew magistrates ; and showed 
clearly, that, if the words which he had used were to be justified 
by availing himself of this distinction, he understood well how to 
do it. 

4. Jesus did not plead, that in making himself the Son of God, 
he did not intend to claim divine attributes or honors. 

What has been supposed to imply this, is merely a question, 
which affirms nothing : " Say ye ?" In this aspect, it is like the 
question proposed to the young ruler : " Why callest thou me 
good ?" Jesus was not now on trial before a regular court, but 
was addressed by a company of malignant and captious men, to 
whom he did not feel bound to give answers and explanations at 
their demand. When they asked to know plainly, whether he was 
the Christ, instead of answering them, he charged them with 
rejecting the testimony and proofs which he had already given, and 
with murderous intentions towards him. So, when they state their 

1 John v. 17, 18. 2 John xix. 7. 3 John xix. 12. 



200 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

charge of blasphemy, he charged them with inconsistency in making 
it out. They were desirous to condemn him. When he was finally 
delivered to the Roman governor, " Pilate knew that the chief 
priests had for envy delivered him to them." 1 Jesus, who knew 
what was in man, fully understood that their pretended jealousy 
for the divine honor, was hypocritical. Some of them, as members 
of the great council, could readily have found Scripture for being 
themselves styled " Gods," yet they would give no patient attention 
to the proofs which Jesus offered, to sustain his claim to the dignity 
he assumed. 

5. Instead of leaving the matter to rest on the plea which these 
words have been supposed to imply, Jesus reasserted his intimate 
union with the Father : " That ye may know and believe that the 
Father is in me, and I in him." 2 After this, it is added, "therefore 
they sought again to take him." It is manifest that the Jews did 
not understand him to retract the claim which had given them 
offence. 

The Jewish magistrates, though called gods, in a subordinate 
sense of the term, had nothing of that intimate union with the 
Father which Jesus claimed. They were, after all, mortal men. 
" I have said ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most 
High ; but ye shall die like men." 3 But concerning himself, Jesus 
had said : " As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to 
the Son to have life in himself." 4 " The Son quickeneth whom he 
will." 5 " The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." 6 The 
Father hath committed all judgment to the Son." 7 "I and my 
Father are one." 8 If, after making these high claims, Jesus had 
quailed before his enemies, and sought shelter in likening himself 
to mortal judges, called gods, he would not have closed his address 
by re-asserting that which had given them offence. " Believe me, 
that I am in the Father, and the Father in me." 

We should remember that Jesus was not now on trial. These 
words were not spoken before the Sanhedrim, where the plea which 
they are supposed to contain, was needed, if needed at all. When 
formally arraigned before that tribunal, Jesus did not object to 

1 Matt, xxvii. 18. 2 John x. 38. 3 Ps. lxxxii. 6 7. 

4 John v. 26. 5 John v. 21. 6 John v. 25. 

7 John v. 22. 8 John x. 30. 



THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 201 

their jurisdiction, nor to the oath administered by the high priest. 
He answered directly and plainly the question which the high 
priest propounded, though he knew well that the answer which he 
gave would, in the judgment of the court, convict him of blasphemy. 
Where now is the plea which he is supposed to have made on the 
former occasion ? He then understood its bearing on the point. 
Has he forgotten it now ? The plea urged on a former occasion, 
at a different place, to a different company, when not on trial, and 
not on oath, cannot avail now, unless repeated in due form. Besides, 
when before made, if made at all, it was obscure, and hidden under 
the form of a question. It is now needed in plainness and by 
direct affirmation. But Jesus does not produce the plea. Let 
those who urge the objection we are considering, account for his 
silence. 

Section III.— UNION OF NATURES. 

The two natures op Jesus Christ, the divine and the 
human, are united in one person. 1 

The name Son of God, properly denotes his divine nature ; and 
the name Son of Man, his human nature. He frequently called 
himself the Son of God ; more frequently, the Son of Man. Both 
these names were used as denoting one and the same person. The 
whole use of them indicates this ; but there are some passages 
which show it more clearly than others. After speaking of himself 
as the Son of God, he says the Father hath given him authority to 
execute judgment, because he is the son of man. 2 Here the same 
person is manifestly called the Son of God, and the Son of Man. 
In other cases, attributes or works which belong to one nature, are 
ascribed to his person, denoted by the name which is derived from 
the other nature. " No man hath ascended up to Heaven, but he 
that came down from Heaven, even the Son of Man, which is in 
Heaven." 3 Here he is named from his human nature, the Son of 
Man ; while omnipresence is ascribed to him, which belongs to his 
divine nature. Another example of like kind is, " The Son of 
Man is Lord also of the Sabbath." 4 The superiority to the Sab- 

1 John iii. 13 ; Rom. i. 4; ix. 5 ; 1 Cor. ii. 8 ; Matt. i. 23. 

2 John v. 27. s John iii. 13. 4 Mark ii. 28. 



202 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

bath belongs to his divine nature, but the name by which he is 
designated belongs to the human. On the other hand, he is called 
God, and the Lord of Glory, when his blood and his crucifixion, 
things pertaining to his human flesh, are the subjects of discourse. 
"They would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." 1 "The 
Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." 2 

How two natures so widely different, should be so united, we 
cannot understand. In the union of the body and soul of man in 
one person, there is a similar fact which we are unable to compre- 
hend ; but if we should disbelieve it, we should reject the testimony 
of our own consciousness. We have, therefore, no plea for rejecting 
the doctrine now before us, on the ground of its mysteriousness. 

The union of the two natures does not confound the properties 
peculiar to each. The humanity is not deified, nor the divinity 
humanized. So, the body of man does not become spirit, by its 
union with the soul ; nor does the soul become matter, by its union 
with the body. 

The union of Christ's divinity with his humanity, is a different 
thing from the indwelling of the Godhead in him. The Holy Ghost 
dwells in believers, so that their bodies are called his temple, but 
this union does not constitute them one person. So, though Jesus 
said, " The Father is in me, and I in him," he addressed his Father, 
and spoke of him, as a distinct person. The same is true of the 
Holy Spirit which dwelt in him, being given to him without 
measure. 

The personal union is more than a mere manifestation of the 
divine nature through the human. God manifests himself in the 
works of creation. But this manifestation is not a personal union ; 
otherwise, the universe must be God. 

This union is indissoluble. Jesus will ever be the Lamb in the 
midst of the throne, 3 and will for ever appear, in his glorified 
humanity, to the worshipping saints, who, with adoring praise, will 
for ever sing, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power 
and riches, and wisdom and strength, and honor and glory and 
blessing." 4 



1 1 Cor. ii. 8. 2 Acts xx. 28. 

8 Rev. vii. 17. 4 Rev. v. 12. 



STATES OF CHRIST. 203 



CHAPTER II. 

STATES OP CHRIST. 
Section I.— ORIGINAL GLORY. 

Before his incarnation, the Son of God was in intimate 
communion of glory and blessedness with the father. 1 

The existence of Christ, previous to his appearing in the world, 
is proved by passages of Scripture, that do not expressly declare 
his divinity. 

If we had no further teaching on the subject, we might suppose 
that he was a created spirit, had enjoyed honor and happiness in 
the presence of God, and had consented to appear, in obedience to 
the will of God, in the person of Jesus Christ. But the proofs 
which have been adduced from other parts of Scripture, clearly 
show that this pre-existent spirit was God, and not a creature. 

Several names are ascribed to the pre-existent divinity of Jesus 
Christ. John calls him the Word of God. 2 He is more frequently 
called the Son of God. Various passages speak of him as the Son 
of God, antecedent to his coming into the world. He is called the 
Angel of the Lord, the Angel of the Lord's presence, the Angel 
of the Covenant, the Captain of the Lord's hosts. It is also 
supposed that he is intended to be designated, in the 8th chapter 
of Proverbs, by the name Wisdom. 

To ascertain the precise import of these several names, is 
attended with difficulty. He appears to be called the Angel or 
Messenger, because he is sent to make known, or to execute, the 
will of God. He is probably called the Word of God, because he 
is the medium through which the mind of God is made known. 
Why he is called the Son of God, is a question on which divines 

1 John i. 15, 30 ; iii. 13, 17, 31 ; vi. 38 ; viii. 58 ; xvii. 5 ; 1 Cor. xv. 47 ; Gen. 
xviii. ; xxh. 15 ; xxxii. 30 ; Ex. iii. ; xx. ; Acts vii. 30, 35, 38 ; John i. 3 ; Col. i. 
16 ; Heb. i. 2, 10; Mic. v. 2 ;' John viii. 58 ; Heb. i. 8 ; xiii. 8 ; Rev. i. 8, 18. 

2 John i. 1. 



204 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

have differed. His miraculous conception, his mediatorial office, 
his resurrection from the dead, and his investiture with supreme 
dominion, have been severally assigned, as the reason of the title ; 
but these appear rather to declare him to be the Son of God, or to 
belong to him because of that relation, than to constitute it. The 
phrases first-born, first-begotten, only-begotten, seem to refer to 
the true ground of the name, Son of God : but what these signify, 
it is probably impossible for us to understand. The ideas of 
peculiar endearment, dignity, and heirship, which are attached to 
these terms, as used among men, may be supposed to belong to 
them, as applied to the Son of God ; but all gross conceptions of 
their import, as if they were designed to convey to our minds the 
idea of derived existence, and the mode of that derivation, ought 
to be discarded as inconsistent with the perfection of Godhead. 
Some have considered the titles Christ, and Son of God, as equal 
and convertible ; but the distinction in the use of them, as pointed 
out in our examination of the charges brought against the Re- 
deemer, shows the error of this opinion. When Saul at Damascus, 1 
and Apollos in Achaia, 2 preached to the Jews that Jesus was the 
Christ, the aim was to convince them that Jesus was the Messiah, 
long expected by their nation. But when Saul preached " Christ, 
that he is the Son of God," 3 and when the eunuch professed his 
faith, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," 4 more than 
the mere messiahship of Jesus is manifestly intended. Christ or 
Messiah is a title of office: but the phrase " Son of God," denotes, 
not the mere office, but the exalted nature which qualified for it. 

The possession of proper deity is alone sufficient to show that the 
Son of God was glorious and happy eternally ; but we may learn 
the same truth from the language of Scripture directly referring 
to this subject. " And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine 
own self, with the glory which I had with thee, before the world 
was." 5 "For ye know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that 
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye 
through his poverty might be rich." 6 " Then I was by him, as one 
brought up with him ; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always 



1 Acts ix. 22. 2 Acts xviii. 28. 3 Acts ix. 20. 

4 Acts viii. 37. 5 John xvii. 5. 6 2 Cor. viii. 9. 



STATES OF CHRIST. 205 

before him." 1 "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not 
robbery to be equal with God." 2 " The only begotten Son, which 
is in the bosom of the Father." 3 The full communion of the Son 
with the Father, in all the glory and blessedness of the Godhead, 
is to be inferred from these passages. 

Section II.— HUMILIATION. 

The Son of God assumed human nature, and in that nature 
lived a life of toil and sorrow, and died an ignominious and 
painful death. 4 

The full history of this wonderful humiliation, is given by the 
four Evangelists ; and is often referred to in the New Testament, 
and sometimes in the prophetic declarations of the Old. 

In contemplating this mystery of " God manifest in the flesh," 
we are not to suppose that the divine nature underwent any real 
change. God cannot cease to be God. The change was in the 
manifestation, and not in the nature. In this manifestation, even 
the angels were concerned, for it is a part of the mystery that 
" God manifest in the flesh" was "seen of angels;" 5 but so won- 
derful was this new mode of manifestation, that the angels could 
not readily know their God, in this humble form, as the babe of 
Bethlehem, and the man of sorrows. Hence, they needed a special 
command from the eternal throne, before they could render him 
divine worship : " When he bringeth the first-begotten into the 
world, he saith, ' Let all the angels of God worship him.' " 6 But 
this fact, it may be objected, shows it to have been a concealment, 
rather than a manifestation. This, to some extent, is true ; but it 
is a concealment resembling that by which God showed himself to 
Moses in the cleft of the rock, concealing the beams of insufferable 
brightness, that the favored servant might see the back parts of 
his glory. So the angels, while they behold the Godhead veiled 
in human nature, obtain views of the divine glory, which would 
otherwise have been impossible. These are the things "into which 
the angels desire to look." 7 "Unto the principalities and powers 



1 Prov. viii. 30. . 2 Phil. ii. 6. 3 John i. 18. 

* 2 Cor. viii. 9. 6 1 Tim. in. 16. 6 Heb. i. 6. 

7 1 Pet. i. 12. 



206 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

in heavenly places, might be known by the Church." — by the 
redemption and salvation of the Church, through the humiliation 
and death of Christ, — "the manifold wisdom of God." 1 

The lowest point of Christ's humiliation, was his death by cru- 
cifixion, and his being held for a time under the power of death, 
as a prisoner in the grave. Some have thought that he descended 
into hell ; but this opinion has arisen from misinterpretation of the 
Scripture, "It was said, Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell:" 2 
but the word "hell" signifies in this place, as it does in many 
others, the unseen world, or the state of departed spirits. When 
it is said, " He went and preached unto the spirits in prison," 3 the 
meaning is, that he, by his spirit, in the ministry of Noah, who 
was a preacher of righteousness, preached to the antediluvians, 
who, being disobedient, and rejecting the ministry, were swept 
away by the flood, and were, when these words were penned, 
spirits in prison. 

The glorious benefits resulting to us from the deep humiliation 
of Christ, are intimated in the words of Paul : " that ye through 
his poverty might be rich." 4 The extent of the riches which we 
shall acquire by his poverty, eternity must disclose. 

Section III. — EX ALT AT 10 N. 

The Son of God, in human nature, was raised from the 
dead, ascended to heaven, and was invested with supreme 
dominion over all creatures. 5 

The facts of Christ's exaltation, like those of his humiliation, 
are related in the Scripture narrative, and referred to in various 
parts of the sacred volume. 

The exaltation, like the humiliation, produced no real change 
in his divine nature. It affected the manifestation of it, and also 
wrought a real change in the condition of the human nature. 
This nature is now perfectly happy. Jesus has received the joy 
that was set before him ; 6 and saints, who are to be happy with 

1 Eph. iii. 10. 2 Ps. xvi. 10. 3 1 Pet. iii. 19. 

4 2 Cor. viii. 9. 

5 Matt, xxviii.; Mark xvi.; Luke xxiv. ; John xx.; Acts i. 11 ; vii. 56 ; is. 4; 
1 Cor. xv. 4-8 ; Phil. ii. 9, 10, 11. 

6 IIeb. xii. 2. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 207 

him for ever, are said to "enter into the joy of their Lord." 1 
On this nature rests, also, the full glory of the Godhead, "the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 As through him 
the brightest manifestations of the divine glory are made to 
intelligent creatures, so through him they receive the commands 
of supreme authority. " He is head of principalities and powers." 
" He raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand 
in the heavenly places, far above all principalities and powers, and 
might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in 
this world, but also in that which is to come." 3 

The glory to which Christ has been exalted, is not a subject of 
idle speculation, in which we have no interest. In his address to 
his Father, he said, in allusion to his disciples, " The glory which 
thou hast given me, I have given them." 4 Hence, while we suffer 
with Christ, 5 and for Christ, in this world, we may rejoice in the 
hope of being glorified with him. 



CHAPTER III. 

offices of christ. 

Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and men. 6 
A mediator is a middle person between two parties. The term 
is especially applied to one who interposes between parties at vari- 
ance, with a view to effect a reconciliation. Men are under the 
displeasure of God, on account of their sins, and are in rebellion 
against him, and enemies in mind by wicked works. Christ ap- 
pears as mediator, to effect a reconciliation. 

The duty of a mediator differs, according to the relation of the 
parties. When the variance between them arises wholly from 
misunderstanding, an explanation is all that is necessary to effect 
a reconciliation. In this case a mediator is simply an interpreter. 

1 Matt. xxv. 21. 2 2 Cor. iv. 6. 3 Eph. i. 20, 21. 

4 John xvii. 22. 5 Rom. viii. 17. 

6 1 Tim. ii. 5 ; 2 Cor. v. 18 ; Col. i. 20 ; 1 John ii. 1 ; Gal. i. 4 ; iii. 13 ; Tit. 
u. 14. 



208 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

When an offence has been given, hut such a one as may be par- 
doned on mere entreaty, the mediator becomes an intercessor. But 
when the circumstances are such as to require satisfaction for the 
offence, the mediator must render that satisfaction or become surety 
for the offender. On God's part, as he has committed no wrong, 
nothing more is required than an Interpreter, 1 to show to man his 
uprightness. But, on the part of guilty man, it is necessary that 
the Mediator should be both Intercessor and Surety. 

The union of two natures in Christ qualifies him for the work 
of mediation. As man, he sympathizes with us, is accessible, 
both when we desire to present petitions and to receive instruction ; 
and he is capable of standing as our substitute or surety, and of 
making the requisite satisfaction to divine justice. As God, he 
understands fully the claims against us, has ready access to the 
offended Sovereign, has all the knowledge which it can be necessary 
to communicate to us, and can give dignity and value to the satis- 
faction offered in our behalf. These qualifications are found in 
no other person, and accordingly " There is none other name under 
heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved." 2 

In the one office of Mediator three offices are included, which 
need separate consideration : those of Prophet, Priest, and King. 



Section I. — PROPHET. 

Jesus Christ, as Prophet, makes revelation from God to 

MEN. 3 

Among the revelations made by prophets, the foretelling of 
future events has held a conspicuous place : but this does not 
constitute the whole of the office. The word prophesy does not 
always refer to future events, as is apparent from an incident in the 
injurious treatment which our Redeemer received at his trial. 
When blindfolded he was struck by one of the attendants, who 
contemptuously demanded, " Prophesy who is he that smote thee." 4 
From this example we learn that the term was not exclusively used 

1 Job xxxiii. 23. 2 Acts iv. 12. 

3 Isaiah lxi. 1 ; Luke iv. 18, 23 ; Heb. ii. 3 ; 1 Pet, i. 11 ; Deut. xviii. 18 ; 
J}hn iii. 34 ; xvi. 1 ; Rev. i. 1. 

4 Matt. xxvi. 68. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 201* 

for the foretelling of future events, but was applied to the making 
of any declaration which required superhuman knowledge. 

Jesus Christ, as a Prophet, was superior to all other prophets. 
Moses was so far distinguished above the rest, that it was said no 
prophet had arisen like him ; x but Moses foretold the coming of 
Jesus Christ, in these words : " The Lord, thy God, will raise up 
unto thee, a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like 
unto me; unto him ye shall hearken," 2 Elijah was a prophet, 
highly distinguished in his day, and was translated to heaven, 
without tasting death: but Moses and Elijah appeared on the 
mount of transfiguration, to lay down their prophetical office and 
honors at the feet of Jesus, when the voice from heaven said, 
" This is my beloved Son, hear ye him." 3 Moses and Elijah were 
to be heard in their day ; but the voice from the excellent glory 
singled out Jesus as the superior prophet, whose instructions we 
are commanded to receive. 

Not only was Christ superior to the prophets of the former dis- 
pensation, but it was he who qualified them for their office, and 
spoke through them." 4 This fact accords with his statement, 
" No man hath seen God at any time : the only begotten Son which 
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." 5 He is, in 
this view, the only Prophet, the only Revealer of the mind of 
God. Before his personal ministry commenced, he made revelation 
by prophets whom he inspired ; during his ministry, he spoke as 
one from the bosom of the Father ; and after he left the world, he 
continued to make revelation, through his apostles and others, to 
whom he gave his Spirit. The last book of the Bible is a revela- 
tion which he gave to his servant John ; 6 and the whole Bible is 
now to us as the word of Christ. His truth he still uses, as the 
Prophet of the Church, instructing his people into the knowledge 
of God. 

God has sometimes been pleased to make known his will by the 
ministry of angels; but the prophets, whom he ordinarily em- 
ployed, were men of like passions with ourselves. There was 
peculiar fitness, as well as condescending kindness, that the great 
Prophet of the Church should be one in our own nature. Though 

1 Deut. xxxiv. 10. ? Deut. xviii. 15. 3 Matt. xvii. 5. 

* 1 Pet. i. 11. 5 Jolm i 18 . e Rev i 1# 

14 



210 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

it was true, "Never man spake like this man," 1 it was still true, 
that he spoke with the voice of a man ; and, instead of the ter- 
rific thunders heard from Sinai, addressed those who were willing 
to receive his instructions, in the accents of tenderness, as an 
affectionate friend. But such affection might have existed, without 
the knowledge necessary to make known the whole mind of God. 
This qualification his divine nature supplied. Paul asks, on one 
occasion, " Who hath known the mind of the Lord ? and who hath 
been his counsellor ? 2 But, it had been predicted of Jesus, that he 
should be called Wonderful, Counsellor. 3 He was the wisdom of 
God, from the bosom of the Father, and was therefore fully quali- 
fied to reveal the mind and counsel of God to men. 

At the feet of this Prophet let us sit, that we may learn the 
knowledge of God. With Mary, let us take our place there, leav- 
ing the cumbering cares of the world, and opening our ears and 
our hearts to receive his heavenly instructions. Peter, James, and 
John, who saw his glorious form in the holy mount, when the 
bright vision had passed away, were left in possession of the 
divine command: " Hear ye him." Let us take this direction as 
the guide of our way, until we shall be admitted to the brighter 
vision of his glory, of which the former was but a shadow. 



Section II.— PRIEST. 

Jesus Christ, as Priest, made an efficacious sacrifice for 
the sins of his people, intercedes for them at the right 
HAND OF God, and blesses them with all spiritual blessings. 4 

A prophet approaches men with revelations from God ; but a 
priest approaches God in behalf of men. His chief business is to 
offer sacrifice, and make intercession. Priests have existed in the 
various religions of the heathen world ; but in the forms of worship 
instituted by divine authority for the observance of the Hebrew 
nation, we find the most instructive exposition of the priestly 



1 John vii. 46. 2 Romans xi. 34. 3 Isaiah ix. 6. 

4 Ps. ex. 4 ; Zech. vi. 13 ; Heb. iv. 14, 15 ; v. 6 ; vi. 20 ; vii. 24, 26 ; viii. 
1 ; ix. 11, 12, 14, 26 ; x. 12, 14 ; Isaiah liii. 5, 7, 12 ; John i. 29 ; x. 15 ; 1 Cor. 
v. 7 ; Eph. v. 2; 1 Tim. ii. 6 ; Heb. ix. 26 ; x. 5 ; xiii. 12 ; 1 Pet. ii. 24 ; fii. 18; 
1 John i. 7 ; Rev. v. 9 ; vii. 14 ; Rom. viii. 34 ; Heb. vii. 25 ; ix. 24. 



OFFICES OF CHKIST. 211 

office. The Epistle to the Hebrews explains the design of this 
institution, and sets forth the Levitical priests as types of Christ 
in his priesthood. It is there stated to be the duty of the priest to 
offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 1 

The text last quoted refers to two kinds of offerings which the 
priest presented : one for thanksgiving, the other for propitiation. 
Various offerings were prescribed as expressions of gratitude for 
mercies received, and others to make atonement for sins. Christ- 
ians make their offerings of praise and thanksgiving through 
Christ, as their Mgh priest; but the only atoning sacrifice is the 
offering which he made of himself, when he gave his life a ransom 
for us. 2 

All propitiatory sacrifices involve the idea of substitution. The 
animal offered represented the offerer, and bore his sins, which 
were confessed, over its head. 3 So Christ bore our sins, 4 our 
iniquities being laid on him. With reference to the use of lambs 
in sacrifice, he is called " the Lamb of God, that taketh away the 
sin of the world." 5 The idea of substitution is clearly conveyed 
in such passages as these : " For a good man some would dare to 
die ; but God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we 
were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 6 " He who knew no sin was 
made sin for us." 7 

Those who deny the divinity of Christ, deny also the doctrine 
of .his vicarious sacrifice. When he is said in Scripture to die for 
us, they understand the import of the language to be, that he died 
for our benefit ; but they exclude the idea of his suffering in our 
stead, bearing the penalty due to our sins, that we might be 
released from it. He is supposed to have died for our benefit, in 
that he gave us an example of patience and resignation in suffer- 
ing, confirmed the doctrine that he taught, and, by rising from the 
dead, established the truth of the soul's immortality, and the resur- 
rection of the body. These several benefits, all will admit, are 
derived from the death and resurrection of Christ : but they do 
not fully come up to the import of the strong language which the 
Scriptures employ in relation to this subject. The ancient. mar- 



1 Heb. v. 1. 2 Matt. xx. 28. 3 Lev. xvi. 21. 

4 1 Pet. ii. 24. » John i. 29. 6 Romans v. 8 

7 2 Cor. v. 21. 



212 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

tyrs generally set us a noble example of patience and resignation 
in suffering and death. Many of them exhibited a fortitude and 
triumph in the prospect of their dying agonies, not seen in the 
example of our Redeemer. In the garden, his soul was exceed- 
ingly sorrowful in the prospect of his sufferings, and he thrice 
prayed that the cup might pass from him ; and, on the cross, 
though he was all submissive to his Father, and yielded his spirit 
at last into his Father's hands, yet he exhibited none of that joy- 
ful exultation which has often shone forth in the martyr's last 
moments, but he seemed oppressed, shrouded in gloom, and 
mourning the withdrawal of his Father's presence. All this may 
be accounted for, if we consider that his death was unlike that of 
the martyrs, because he endured in it the wrath of the Father, 
due to our transgressions. If his death had been merely to set 
us an example, it might be said, with greater propriety, that 
Peter, Paul, and other Christian martyrs, died for us : but Paul 
will not admit this ; for he says, in a manner which implies a 
strong denial, "Was Paul crucified for you?" 1 

The sincerity of the ancient Christians was demonstrated by 
their readiness to suffer and die, rather than renounce the faith 
which they professed. Christ's death may be said to confirm his 
sincerity in the same way ; but if this is what is meant by his 
dying for us, Stephen, James, Peter, and Paul died for us in this 
sense. But though the death of Jesus may be understood to 
establish his sincerity for the confirmation of his doctrine, he was 
accustomed to refer, for this purpose, not to his death, but to his 
miraculous works and his resurrection. It was his resurrection 
also, rather than his death, which established the truth of the 
soul's immortality and of the resurrection of the body. If, there- 
fore, these confirmations of truth for our benefit are what is intended 
by Christ's dying for us, it would be more correct to say, that he 
wrought miracles and rose from the dead for us. But his death 
has so prominent a place in the Scriptures, as that to which we 
are indebted for eternal life, that we are compelled to seek for a 
higher sense of the phrase, " Christ died for us." 

The humble disciple of Jesus, who is willing to learn, as a little 
child, in what sense his Lord and Master died for him, needs only 

1 1 Cor. i. 13. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 213 

to read with attention the passages of Scripture which have been 
quoted, and which fully establish the doctrine, that Christ's death 
was an atoning sacrifice for our sins. This doctrine is essential to 
Christianity. It is the grand peculiarity of the Christian scheme. 
Hence Paul determined to know nothing but " Christ crucified," 1 
to glory in nothing but " the cross of Christ." 2 The gospel was 
the preaching of Christ crucified. 3 It was a stumbling block to 
the self-righteous Jews, and foolishness to the philosophical Greeks ; 
but to those who received it to the salvation of their souls, it was 
Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 4 It was not 
Christ transfigured on Mount Tabor ; not Christ stilling the tem- 
pest, and raising the dead ; not Christ rising triumphantly from 
the grave, and ascending gloriously, amidst shouts of attendant 
angels, to his throne in the highest heavens : but Christ on the 
cross, expiring in darkness and woe, that the first preachers of the 
Gospel delighted to exhibit to the faith of their hearers. This 
was their Gospel ; its centre, and its glory. It was faith in this 
Gospel that controlled the hearts of their converts, and made 
them ready to die for him who had, by his death, procured for 
them eternal life. In this faith they exclaimed, " God forbid that 
I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." 5 To 
this they 'referred when they said, "I am crucified with Christ; 
nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the 
life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son 
of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." 6 

The doctrine of Christ's atoning sacrifice explains the Old Tes- 
tament dispensation. To what purpose were its victims brought 
to the altar, and the rites of its worship all stained with blood ? 
Was God really pleased with the slaughter of animals, and the 
smell of their sacrifice ? Paul has explained, that these were a 
shadow of good things to come ; 7 but the body is of Christ. As 
mere types of Christ's atoning sacrifice, ■ they are intelligible. 
This they prefigured. " Christ also hath loved us, and given him- 
self for us ; an offering and a sacrifice to God of sweet smelling 
savor ;" 8 and it was only because of their reference to this sacrifice, 

1 1 Cor. ii. 2. 2 Gal> vi 14# 8 1 Cor j 23 

* Rom. i. 16. 5 Gal< vi# 14 e GaL iif 20. 

7 Heb. x. 1. s Eph> v# 2. j 



214 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

that the sacrifices of the preceding times were acceptable to the 
Lord. 

The general prevalence of sacrifices, in the religions of the 
world, is a fact which it is difficult to account for. If it be sup- 
posed to arise from principles implanted in human nature, it will 
furnish a strong argument to prove that human nature has ever 
felt, and must feel, the necessity for such a sacrifice as is made by 
the death of Christ. If the prevalence of sacrifices be accounted 
for by tracing them to an ancient institution, given to our race by 
revelation from God, an argument, still stronger in favor of our 
doctrine, is furnished by the fact. It appears, from this view of 
the subject, that the institution is not only more ancient than the 
laws of Moses, but has come down from the time when Abel 
offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. 1 As this 
sacrifice, like all subsequent ones which were offered by faith, had 
reference to the sacrifice of Christ, the whole institution of sacri- 
fice bears testimony to it. 

The sacrifice of Christ, which is the object of Christian faith on 
earth, will be the song of glorified saints in heaven. The Lamb, 
in the midst of the throne, will appear in their view, not as once 
honored and powerful, but as having been made a sacrifice, " a 
lamb that had been slain." 2 He was once the victim on the sacri- 
ficial altar, but he will be the object of adoration in the everlasting 
song, "Unto him that loved us," 3 &c. 

When the birth of Jesus was announced by the angel, it was 
said, " His name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people 
from their sins." 4 This was the grand design of his coming into 
the world : " The Son of man is come to seek and to save that 
which was lost." 5 To effect this salvation, a sacrifice was demanded; 
and, that he might make the required sacrifice, it was necessary 
that he should assume human nature : " When he cometh into the 
world, he saith : Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body 
hast thou prepared me." 6 "It was necessary that this man have 
somewhat to offer." 7 His humanity was the victim laid on the 
altar, for which reason it is said, " He bore our sins in his own 
body, on the tree." 8 " The Captain of our salvation must be made 

1 Heb. xi. 4. 2 Kev. v. 6. 3 Rev. i. 5. 

4 Matt. i. 21. 5 Luke xix. 10. 6 Heb. x. 5. 

* Heb. viii. 3. 8 1 Pet. ii. 24. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 215 

perfect through suffering ;" r and he must, therefore, have a nature 
capable of suffering : " For this cause, he was made lower than 
the angels, that, for the suffering of death, he might be crowned 
with glory and honor." 2 There is, doubtless, also a peculiar fitness 
in the arrangement, by which the Redeemer is the near-kinsman 
of the redeemed ; and the sacrifice made in the nature that had 
sinned. Had the Son of God undertaken the salvation of angels, 
there would have been a fitness in his taking on him the nature of 
angels : but as he came to save men, he took on him human nature, 
and was made in all points like his brethren. 3 

While the fact of the sacrifice depended on the assumption of 
a nature capable of suffering, the undertaking of the work, the 
efficacy of the sacrifice, the power to lay down his life, and the 
power to take it again, depended on the divine nature of Christ. 
The divine nature, alone, could not be made under the law : and 
the human nature, alone, could not have originally consented to be 
made under the law ; and would not thereby, had it been possible, 
have exhibited any humiliation, any voluntary impoverishing of 
himself, that we might be made rich. The question has sometimes 
been proposed, how much obedience did the human nature of 
Jesus Christ owe for itself, and how much did it render for the 
benefit of others ? but this is a useless question, and is asked on a 
mistaken apprehension of the facts concerning Christ's assumption 
of our nature. The man Christ Jesus never had an existence 
separate from the divine nature. The Word did not enter into 
flesh previously existing ; but " the Word was made flesh." 4 Had 
the Word entered into a previously existing man, we might con- 
ceive of the obligations which that man had previously owed to 
the law, and the continuance of those obligations. But the Son 
of God was made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem 
them that were under the law. 5 As the obligations were assumed 
for their benefit, the whole fulfilment of them must have been for 
their benefit. As the assumption of human nature was designed 
for the salvation of his people, all that he did and suffered in that 
nature, is to be viewed as a part of the great design, and consti- 
tuting a part of the work. 



1 Heb. ii. 10. « Heb# jj 9# 3 Heb> ii# 16> 17i 

* John i. 14. » Gal. iv. 5. 



216 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST, 

We are not permitted to suppose that the divine nature of Jesus 
Christ could, in itself, endure the sufferings necessary to make 
atonement, or that it did, in the proper sense, suffer with the 
human nature. We cannot conceive that the perfect blessedness 
of God can consist with the endurance of suffering, any more than 
we can conceive the divine immensity shut up within the limits of 
a human body. Yet we are authorized to conclude, that whatever 
Jesus did or suffered, does, in some manner, represent to us the 
mind of God. To think God to be altogether such an one as our- 
selves, 1 is a gross and sinful view of him, which he resents : but 
we are, nevertheless, compelled to form our conceptions of his mind 
from the knowledge which we have of our own. This mode of 
conception his word authorizes. The pity of a father for his chil- 
dren, is made by God himself the image in which we are to see 
his pity for those who fear him. 2 Pity, as exercised by human 
beings, may be a very painful emotion ; but, when we attribute it 
to God, we must conceive of it as posesssing all that is excellent 
in human pity, but without the imperfection of pain. So, the 
mind of the holy Jesus exhibits to us the mind of God. The pity 
which he felt, however painful it may have been to his human soul, 
is an image in which we are permitted to see the compassion of 
God. Could we have before our contemplation all the affections 
and emotions that the holy soul of Jesus ever experienced, we 
might learn therein more of the mind of God than is otherwise 
discoverable : and if we understood the affections and emotions 
of which he was the subject in his last hours, we should probably 
understand, better than in any other way, how the divine perfec- 
tions were concerned in his atoning sufferings. It is our duty to 
look to Jesus, who endured the cross, 3 and to study his character, 
that the same mind may be in us, and we feel the stronger obli- 
gation to study with what mind he suffered death ; because Paul 
prayed to have fellowship with his sufferings, and to be conformed 
to his death. 4 

What, then, were the emotions of Jesus in his last sufferings ? 
When he consented to make the sacrifice in the body prepared for 
him, he said, " Thy law is within my heart." 3 He doubtless 



1 Ps. 1. 21. 2 Ps. ciii. 13. 3 Heb. xii. 2. 

* Phil. iii. 10. 6 Ps. xl. 8. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 217 

retained this law in his heart, through his intensest agony, and 
approved it, even while he was undergoing its dire penalty. In 
this particular Paul had fellowship with him, for he could say, " I 
delight in the law of God after the inward man." 1 When Jesus 
bore our sins in his body on the tree, it is reasonable to suppose 
that his human soul had a sense of the great evil of sin ; other- 
wise we cannot understand how it should approve the law under 
which he was suffering the penalty for sin. Whatever other emo- 
tions had a place in his mind, we are authorized to conclude that 
he had a deep sense of the evil of the sins which he bore, and of 
the excellence of the law which those sins opposed. While love, 
stronger than death, identified him with his people, who were 
under the sentence of the violated law, he loved also that law with 
all his heart. These contending affections painfully struggled 
together in his breast. The sins of his people were not offences 
which he had personally committed ; and therefore remorse, in the 
proper sense, was not an ingredient in his suffering. But an affec- 
tionate husband, who loves his wife as his own flesh, would, when 
grieving for a crime which she has committed, feel nearly the same 
agony as if he had personally committed it ; so, when Christ loved 
the Church, and gave himself for it, he felt the sins of the Church 
as if they had been his own. In this sense of the evil of sin, 
which was an element in the sufferings of Jesus, it was lawful for 
Paul to desire fellowship with him. The Scripture teaches that 
Jesus offered himself to God, through the eternal Spirit. 2 This 
Spirit produces love to God and his law in the hearts of believers, 
and gives them a sense of the evil of sin ; in both which particu- 
v ars they have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings. Now, if we 
suppose that the Spirit, which was given to Christ without measure, 
opened to his view, when hanging on the cross, the full glory of 
the divine law which the Church, his bride, had violated ; and the 
full enormity of the sins which his people had committed; what 
intense agony would these discoveries produce ! No agony of the 
deepest penitence could surpass it. Yet all this Jesus probably 
felt ; and in all this we may well pray to have fellowship with him. 
If the view which we have taken, gives us any just insight into 
the emotions which rent the holy soul of Jesus, when he hung on 

1 Roni. vii. 22. 2 Heb. ix. 14. 



218 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

the cross for us, it should make us feel, deeply feel, the moral 
power of that cross. To think as he thought, and feel as he felt, 
is enough to constrain us to live to him who died for us. No higher 
motive to holiness can be needed, than that which proceeds from 
the cross. 

The denial of Christ's divinity, and that of his atonement, 
consistently accompany each other. We should have little need 
of a divine person, to fulfil the offices ascribed to Christ, if that of 
making an efficacious sacrifice for sin be not included. The system 
in which these two cardinal doctrines are omitted, is another 
gospel, which Paul, and the first ministers of the Christian religion, 
knew not ; and which cannot meet the necessities of lost men. It 
is worthy of special remark, that the two positive institutions of 
Christianity — baptism and the Lord's supper, refer to these two 
doctrines, and silently and significantly preach them. In baptism, 
we devote ourselves to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit ; 
acknowledging the divinity and authority of each person in the 
Godhead : and the divinity of the second person is more especially 
acknowledged in those brief accounts of baptism, in which persons 
are said to have been baptised in the name of Christ. In the 
Lord's supper, the doctrine of atonement is clearly set forth. 
" This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many 
for the remission of sins." 1 The two ordinances have, from the 
days of the apostles, been observed by the great body of professing 
Christians ; though their form and use have not been kept pure, as 
they were originally delivered, and the two doctrines which they 
set forth, have been maintained in the great body of Christian 
professors, in all ages ; though accompanied with much corruption. 

The Scriptures plainly teach that the propitiatory sacrifice of 
Christ was necessary to render the justification of a sinner consistent 
with the justice of God. " Whom God hath set forth to be a 
propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness 
for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of 
God ; to declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness, that he 
might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." 2 

Had it not been absolutely necessary, we cannot account for it, 
that God should have inflicted such suffering, or even permitted it 

1 Matt. xxvi. 28. 2 Rom. iii. 25, 26. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 219 

to fall, on his beloved Son, who was " holy, harmless, undefiled, and 
separate from sinners." The death of Christ, if he was not a divine 
person, was, as we have before shown, the effect of perjury and suici- 
dal prevarication on his part ; and if it was not an atoning sacrifice 
indispensably necessary to satisfy divine justice, it is difficult to 
show that it was not, on the part of the Father, a display of injustice 
and cruelty towards the Son of his love. Why was his ear deaf to 
the thrice-repeated petition, "Let this cup pass from me" ? Why 
had the sorrows of Gethsemane, and the bloody sweat of the 
agonized, but innocent, sufferer, no effect to move the pity of the 
"Father, to whom Christ had said: "I know that thou hearest me 
always." 1 The resigned language of the suffering Jesus, and the 
condition on which he bases the petition, furnish the answer : " 
my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ; nevertheless, 
not as I will, but as thou wilt." 2 

Whatever views of propriety may be entertained by short-sighted 
mortals, it is manifestly the teaching of sacred Scripture, that God 
could not, consistently with his justice, forgive our sins on our 
mere asking, or even on our penitential acknowledgments. We 
are required to forgive offences till seventy times seven, when a 
brother acknowledges his trespass ; but sins against God are not 
private offences, to be remitted in the same manner. A judge who 
should pardon a criminal, that, according to law, ought to be 
condemned, and turn him loose on the community, would be false 
to his sacred office. So God sustains the character of a righteous 
Judge ; and, sooner than disregard the claims of law, and overthrow 
his moral government, he is willing to plunge the sword of justice 
into the heart of his beloved Son. And such is the reverence of 
the Son, for the law of his Father and the claims of justice, that 
lie patiently consents to be led as a lamb to the slaughter, that his 
death may justify God in forgiving and saving the guilty. 

How the death of Christ rendered full satisfaction to divine 
justice, is a question which we shall have occasion to consider, 
under the head of Justification. 

Those who oppose the doctrine of atonement, have viewed it as 
inconsistent with justice, that the innocent should suffer for the 
guilty. Their views, however, are plainly at variance with those 

1 John xi. 42. 2 Matt. xxvi. 39. 



220 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

which are presented in the Book of God. " He suffered, the just 
for the unjust." 1 " He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew 
no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 
Even in human affairs, sureties are allowed to pay the debts of 
others ; and, with reference to this well-known arrangement among 
men, Christ is called the surety of the better covenant. 3 To render 
such suretyship consistent with justice, his voluntary consent must 
be given, and he must have had a perfect right to dispose of 
himself. The right he possessed, because of his divinity ; and the 
consent was given in the covenant of grace which he made with 
the Father. • 

A part of the priest's office consisted in making intercession for 
the people. The high priest did this in a special manner, when he 
went into the holy of holies. Jesus interceded, when he prayed 
for Peter that his faith might not fail ; and when he poured forth 
to his Father the beautiful prayer recorded in John xvii. But 
now, in the holy of holies, the immediate presence of God, he ever 
liveth to make intercession for us. 4 How that intercession is 
carried on, we cannot undertake to explain. What his mode of 
asking is, we know not ; but in some mode, he asks, and the heathen 
are given to him for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
earth for a possession. 5 In some mode, while he sympathises with 
his suffering followers on earth, he asks grace for them, to help 
them in their trials and sorrows, and his intercession prevails. 

The remaining part of the priest's office consisted in blessing 
the people. 6 The high priest did this, on his return from the holy 
of holies. This, also, our great High Priest will do, in the most 
public manner, when he shall return from the heavens which he 
has entered, and meet his people in the great congregation at the 
last judgment. It is of little importance, whether we refer this 
act of blessing to the priestly or the kingly office of Christ. It was 
anciently said, that the priest's lips should keep knowledge, 
and they should seek the law at his mouth. 7 Yet we refer Christ's 
teaching to his prophetical, rather than to his priestly office. So, 
though the ancient priests blessed the people, yet, as the priest's 

1 1 Pet. iii. 18. 2 2 Cor. v. 21. 3 Heb. vii. 22. 

* Heb. vii. 25. 5 Ps. ii. 8. 6 Num. vi. 22-27. 

' Mai. ii. 7. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 221 

office was to approach God, in behalf of men; rather than to 
approach men with either revelations or blessings from God ; we 
may consider the blessings conferred on the obedient subjects of 
Christ's reign, as the bestowments of his royal munificence ; and, 
therefore, as appertaining to his kingly office. This accords with 
the language of Scripture : " Then shall the King say : ' Come, ye 
blessed of my Father.' "* But all Christ's offices yield blessings to 
his people ; and were undertaken by him for their sake. 

Section III.— KING. 

Jesus Christ, as the mediator between God and men, 
exercises kingly authority over all creatures, to the glory 
of God, and the good of his people. 2 

• The superscription which Pilate placed on the cross, was, " Jesus 
of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." This writing expressed a truth 
of which its author was not aware. Jesus of Nazareth was the 
Messiah, foretold by the Hebrew prophets, and expected by the 
nation as the king who would rule over them, and raise them to 
great prosperity. 

The Hebrew word Messiah, to which the Greek word Christ 
corresponds, signifies the Anointed. "When kings and priests were 
introduced into office among the Israelites, it was usual to anoint 
them with oil. We have one example, in which a prophet was set 
apart to his work, by the same ceremony. 3 Jesus was the Anointed, 
because he sustained all these offices; and, although he was not 
introduced into either of them, by a literal anointing with oil, he 
had the unction of the Holy Spirit, of which the literal unction 
with oil was a type. The words of Isaiah, read by him in the 
synagogue of Nazareth, were applied to himself: "The Spirit of 
the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach," 4 
&c. Here the anointing must be understood as referring to his 
prophetical office. The same reference seems to have been made 
with taunt and derision by the individual who smote Jesus, and said : 



1 Matt. xxv. 34. 

2 Num. xxiv. 17 ; Ps. ii. 6 ; Isaiah xxxii. 1 ; Zech. ix. 9 ; Matt. xxi. 5 ; John 
xviii. 36 ; Matt. xxv. 34 ; Heb. ii. 9 ; Rev. v. 13 ; 1 Tim. vi. 15 ; Rev. xvii. 14 ; 
xix. 16 ; Eph. i. 20-23 ; v. 23'; Phil. ii. 9, 10. 

3 1 Kings xix. 16. 4 Isaiah lxi. 1. 



222 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

"Prophesy, thou Christ, who is he that smote thee?" 1 In this 
taunt, it was implied, that the Christ was expected to be a prophet. 
But from the common use of anointing, we are led to refer the term 
Christ rather to the priestly and kingly offices, with which Jesus 
was invested. The most common reference, is to his kingly office. 
He was reported to Pilate, as making himself " Christ, a king." 2 
In expecting their Messiah, the Jews looked for a king, who was 
to rule over them and deliver them from their enemies. Many of 
the prophecies concerning the Christ, relate to his reign as king 
over Israel : and when he, before the Jewish council, claimed to be 
the Christ, he referred to the future manifestation of his kingly 
power and glory, " Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right 
'hand of the power of God." 3 

A proof that Jesus was the promised Messiah, is found in the 
fact, that the prophecies were fulfilled in him. The time and place 
of his birth, and the tribe and family from which he was to spring, 
were particularly foretold ; and the events corresponded to the 
predictions. Many prophecies of events in his life, sufferings, death, 
burial, and resurrection, were exactly fulfilled. Jesus appealed 
with confidence to the Scriptures, for proof of his claims : " Search 
the Scriptures; for they are they that testify of me." 4 And the 
apostles said: "To him give all the prophets witness." 5 

Further proof that Jesus was the Christ, is furnished by the 
testimony of John the Baptist, 6 by the voice of the Father at his 
baptism, 7 and at his transfiguration in the mount ; 8 by his works, 
to which he often appealed in proof of his claim ; and by his claim 
itself, which was made repeatedly during his ministry ; and finally 
before the Jewish council, and before Pilate, and which was sus- 
tained by his miracles, and ultimately by his resurrection from the 
dead. 

To all these proofs it may be added, that the Jews have found 

no other Messiah. They have confidently expected one, and the 

time for his coming has long passed. Either Jesus of Nazareth is 

•the Messiah foretold, or the prophecies were false, and the religion 

of which they were a part was not from God. 



1 Matt. xxvi. 68. 2 Luke xxiii. 2. 3 Luke xxii. 6 

4 John v. 39. 6 Acts x. 43. 6 John iii. 28. 

7 Matt. iii. 17 8 Matt. xvii. 5. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 223 

Jesus Christ, as the Supreme God, had, of original right, sov- 
ereign authority over all creatures. But when the Word was made 
flesh, he took on him the form of a servant; and, for a time, 
appeared divested of divine power and glory. But, after having 
humbled himself, and completed the service for which his humili- 
ation was necessary, it pleased God to reward that service by 
exalting him to supreme authority over all creatures. " All power 
is given unto me in heaven and in earth." 1 

A peculiarity of Christ's dominion as Mediator, is, that it is 
exercised by him in human nature. Why it was the pleasure of 
God to exalt human nature to a dignity so high, it is impossible for 
us fully to comprehend. We see in it the complete defeat of Satan, 
the apostate angel, who aimed to bring our inferior nature entirely* 
under his power. He triumphed over the first Adam : but the 
second Adam has triumphed over him, and will bring him into 
complete subjection, with all the hostile powers that he has set in 
array ; and will, in the very nature over which Satan triumphed, 
bring them into subjection under his feet. This dominion over 
principalities and powers Jesus Christ exercises, with a reference 
to the good of his people, redeemed from among men. To secure 
this benefit, the exercise of his dominion in human nature doubtless 
contributes. The redeemed are one with him, as he is one with 
the Father. That wonderful prayer is fulfilled, " that they all 
may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they 
also may be one in us." 2 They are admitted to a communion with 
God, far more intimate and glorious than could otherwise be en- 
joyed ; and are exalted to such honor, that they are said to reign 
with Christ. This dignity is nowhere ascribed to angels. Jesua 
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This exercise of 
divine authority, through the human nature of Jesus Christ, will 
manifest the glory of God in its richest displays ; and angels and 
men will here learn, through eternal ages, the perfections of the 
divine nature, and will for ever admire and adore, with ineffable 

Another peculiarity of this dominion, is, that it opens a new dis- 
pensation to rebellious men. When the angels, that kept not their 

1 Matt, xxviii. 18. ■ 2 John xvii. 21. 



224 DOCTRINE CONCERNING J.ESUS CHRIST. 

first estate, sinned against God, they were driven from his pres- 
ence, and condemned to hopeless woe. No mediator was provided 
for them ; and no gospel of salvation was ever proclaimed in their 
ears. Such ah administration of divine authority, as gives hope 
of pardon to offenders, was unknown in the government of the 
world until man sinned ; and this administration constitutes a dis- 
tinguishing feature of Christ's mediatorial reign. Hence, he is the 
Mediator between God and men, and not between God and angels ; 
and hence the Mediator is emphatically called " the man Christ 
Jesus." 1 On earth, the Son of man had power to forgive sins ; 2 and 
in heaven he sits on a throne of grace, to which we are permitted 
and invited to come, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to 
help in every time of need. When God displayed his glory to Moses, 
and proclaimed his name in the hearing of that favored servant, his 
forgiving mercy had a conspicuous place in the revelation : " The 
Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering," 3 &c. So, in heaven, 
where his full glory is seeri, the dispensation of his mercy from the 
throne of grace on which the exalted Mediator sits, constitutes 
the most lovely and attractive exhibition of the divine glory that the 
happy worshippers are permitted to behold. 

Of the two peculiarities which have been mentioned as distin- 
guishing the mediatorial dominion of Christ, the first could not 
exist until the humanity of Christ was exalted to the throne. 
Then the mediatorial reign, in its full development, commenced, 
when the Father said, " Sit thou at my right hand, until I make 
thine enemies thy footstool." 4 But the second peculiarity existed 
in an incomplete administration of this mediatorial reign, which 
was exercised from the time of man's fall. Before the efficacious 
sacrifice for sin was made, in which the humanity of Christ became 
the victim, the merits of that sacrifice were anticipated ; and, through 
its virtue, pardons were bestowed on believers, from the days of 
Abel. It is now made known to us, that these pardons were 
bestowed through the second person in the Godhead, who had 
engaged, as the surety for sinners, to do the work which he has 
since performed : and the inquiries of angels, and the faith of Old 
Testament saints, were all directed forward to the coming of Christ, 

1 1 Tim. ii. 5. 2 Matt. ix. 6. 

3 Ex. xxxiv. 6. * Ps. ex. 1. 



OFFICES OF CHKIST. 225 

for explanation of that mysterious dispensation by which rebels 
obtained mercy. 

Jesus Christ is head over all things to the Church. He exercises 
his supreme authority for the benefit of his people, for whose sake 
he sanctified himself to undertake the work of mediation. He is 
head over principalities and powers ; and angels honor and obey 
him, and are sent forth as ministering spirits, to minister to the 
heirs of salvation. He is Lord over all the earth ; and regulates 
every agent and every event in the world, so that " all things work 
together for good to them that love God." If Christ is ours, all 
things are ours ; for all things are in his hands, and he holds them 
for the benefit of his people. 

In the few words which Jesus spoke respecting his kingdom, 
when he stood before Pilate, the most important instruction is 
conveyed. We cannot too much admire the wisdom with which he 
accurately described, in so few words, the kingdom that he came 
to establish : " My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom 
were of this world, then would my servants fight." 1 The kings of 
the earth maintain their authority by force. The coerced obedience 
which they procure, is often reluctantly rendered. The proper 
subjects of Christ's kingdom are a willing people, 2 who voluntarily 
give themselves up to his authority, and serve him with delight. 
In extending his kingdom he has not allowed carnal weapons to be 
used ; but such only as are powerful, through God, to bring the 
heart into subjection : " Every one that is of the truth, heareth 
my voice." 3 He who receives the truth, hears the voice of the 
king, and acknowledges his authority. To believe the truth, is to 
obey the Gospel ; and this is to be subject to Christ as king. The 
Jews had expected the Messiah to set up a kingdom, which would 
be like the kingdoms of the earth, and surpass them in glory. 
The disciples of Jesus entertained similar views ; and hence arose 
the request to sit on his right hand, and on his left, in his king- 
dom. Hence, too, arose their despondency when they saw him 
crucified. They had thought that it was he who was to restore 
the kingdom to Israel ; 4 and his death darkened their prospects, 
and cut off their hopes. The faith of the expiring thief recognised 

1 John xviii. 36. 2 Ps. ex. 3. 

3 John xviii. 37. 4 Luke xxiv. 21 ; Acta i. 6. 

15 



226 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

the expiring Jesus as king ; and prayed, " Lord, remember me, 
when thou comest into thy kingdom i" 1 but the mourning disciples 
of Jesus could not see the bright prospect of his kingdom, through 
the darkness of the grave. Yet, the death of Jesus was necessary 
to the establishment of his kingdom : " For obedience unto death, 
he was crowned with glory and honor." 2 And the dying love of 
Christ is the constraining power which brings the heart into sub- 
jection to his authority. 

Wrong views respecting the nature of the Messiah's kingdom, 
have been productive of much evil. The princes of this world 
crucified the Lord of glory, because they could not recognize him 
in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who came into the world to 
bear witness to the truth, and not to introduce his kingdom with 
the pomp which the carnal mind is pleased with. And Christ has 
been crucified afresh, and put to open shame, by his professed fol- 
lowers, because of their wrong notions respecting his kingdom. 
A visible ecclesiastical organization, distinguished by the observ- 
ance of external forms, has claimed to be the kingdom of Christ ; 
and its power has been extended and wielded by means far differ- 
ent from those which Jesus authorized. To banish this corrupt 
Christianity from the earth, correct views respecting the kingdom 
of Christ must prevail. 

The Messiah was to rule in the midst of his enemies ; and his 
iron sceptre was to break in pieces, as a potter's vessel, 3 all who 
are disobedient, and do not obey the truth : but those who obey 
the truth are "the children of the kingdom;" and to them the 
benefits and blessings of his reign belong. In this restricted sense, 
none but regenerate persons enter into his kingdom. 4 We are 
translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son, 5 when we receive 
his truth into our hearts. In this sense, no profession of religion, 
and no observance of external forms, can bring any one into the 
kingdom of Christ. The tares may resemble the wheat : but the 
tares are the children of the wicked one ; and the good seed only 
are the children of the kingdom ; 6 and when the Son of man shall 
gather out of his kingdom whatever is offensive to him, the tares 
will, equally with the briars and thorns, be rejected, as not belong- 

1 Luke xxiii. 42. 2 Phil. ii. 8, 9 ; Heb. ii. 9. 8 Ps. ii 9. 

* John iii. 5. 5 Col. i. 13. 6 Matt. xiii. 38. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 227 

ing properly to his kingdom, and doomed to be burned. Let it 
then be distinctly understood, that the kingdom of Christ is not a 
great visible organization, consisting of good men and bad, who 
are bound together by some ecclesiastical tie. He rules over all ; 
but he accounts all as the enemies of his reign who do not obey 
the truth : and the hypocrite and formalist have no more part in 
his kingdom than Herod and Pontius Pilate. 

Some obscurity has arisen in the interpretation of Scriptures in 
which the word kingdom occurs, from supposing that it always 
refers to the territory or subjects that are under the government 
of a king. King-dom is king dominion, king jurisdiction. The pri- 
mary idea is kingly authority. In this primary sense it is used in 
Luke xix. 12 : "A certain nobleman went into a far country to re- 
ceive for himself a kingdom." See also Rev. xvii. 12. This radical 
idea the word retains everywhere ; but it becomes so modified by 
the connection in which it is used, as to refer to the time, place, or 
circumstances in which kingly authority is exercised ; to the per- 
sons over whom it is exercised ; and, sometimes, to the benefits 
resulting from its exercise. An example of this last use is found 
in Rom. xiv. 17 : " The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and 
joy in the Holy Ghost." The phrases, "kingdom of heaven," 
"kingdom of God," "kingdom of Christ," "kingdom of God's 
dear Son," are used with reference to the reign of the Messiah. 
They denote God's exercise of kingly authority in the 'person of 
the Messiah ; and this radical idea, as before stated, becomes modi- 
fied by the connection in which the phrases are used. When para- 
bles are introduced with the words " The kingdom of God is like," 
we are to understand that some fact or truth connected with the 
reign of the Messiah is illustrated by the parable. It will be 
impossible to make sense of many passages, if the term be under- 
stood always to signify the subjects over whom Christ reigns. How, 
in this signification of the term, can the kingdom be like a mer- 
chantman, 1 a net, 2 a treasure ? 3 " The kingdom of heaven is like 
to a man which sowed good seed in his field." 4 Here, no com- 
parison can be intended between the subjects of Christ's reign and 
the man that sowed the seed. But the parable illustrates important 



1 Matt. xiii. 45. " 2 Matt. xiii. 47. 

3 Matt. xiii. 44. * Matt. xiii. 45 



228 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

truth connected with the reign of the Messiah. It teaches that 
the world, represented by the field, is under his dominion ; that, 
for a time, the good and bad are permitted to remain together ; 
but that a separation will finally be made, and the blessings of his 
reign will be enjoyed by those only who are " the good seed," 
sown by himself, and who only are " the children of the kingdom." 

The mediatorial reign of Christ will include the judgment of the 
great day. It is said, " We must all stand at the judgment seat of 
Christ;" and also, in describing the sentences pronounced, "Then 
shall the king say," &c. Then they who condemned and crucified 
Christ the king, and all who would not have him to reign over 
them, shall stand at his tribunal. The decisions of that day will 
be made according to the relation which each individual has borne 
to Christ. What men have done to the least of his disciples, he 
will regard as done to him ; and, according to the dispositions so 
evinced, will be every man's final doom. 

Will the mediatorial reign of Christ continue after the transac- 
tions of the great day ? An important change will doubtless then 
take place in the manner of his reign. All his enemies will have 
been subdued, all his ransomed people brought home, and his last 
act of pardoning mercy performed. Yet, we are informed that 
the glory of God and the Lamb will be the light of the New Jeru- 
salem ; l that the Lamb will be in the midst of the throne ; and 
that he will feed the redeemed, and lead them to the fountains of 
living water. 2 From these representations, we appear authorized 
to conclude that Christ will remain the medium of communication 
through which the saints will for ever approach God, and receive 
glory and bliss from him. The language of Paul in 1 Cor. xv. 25, 
is not inconsistent with this opinion : " He must reign, until he 
hath put all enemies under his feet." When it is said, " Until the 
law, sin was in the world, 3 we are not to conclude that sin was not 
in the world afterwards : so, when it is said, " He must reign until," 
&c, we must not infer that he will not reign after this time. It 
will not accord with his own representation of the subject, if, when 
those who would not have him to reign over them, shall have been 
slain before his face, 4 he himself shall cease to reign. When it is 

1 Rev. xxi. 23 2 Rev. vii. 17. 

3 Rom. v. 13. 4 Luke xix. 27. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 229 

said, " then shall the Son be subject to the Father, 1 we are not to 
Understand that this subjection excludes the idea of reigning; 
otherwise it would be implied that his previous reign had not been 
in subjection to the Father. Christ now reigns in subjection to 
the Father ; but the harmony of his administration with the will 
and perfections of God, cannot fully appear while rebels go at large 
under his government ; but when all enemies have been subdued, 
the harmony of his administration with the government of God, 
absolutely considered, will be made apparent. The coincidence of 
the two modes of government will be fully manifested. This will 
be the time of the restitution of all things. 2 He must reign until 
his enemies are subdued ; and the heavens must receive him until 
the time of the restitution of all things ; but he will not, then, 
either forsake heaven or cease to reign. 



CONCLUSION. 



" What think ye of Christ ?" We may now, with great propriety, 
consider this question solemnly addressed to us. We have contem- 
plated the person, states, and offices of Christ. What impression 
does the contemplation leave in our minds ? What emotions has 
it produced ? Have the words of the prophet been fulfilled in our 
case: "He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see 
him, there is no beauty that we should desire him" ? Or, can we 
say, " He is the chief among ten thousands, and altogether lovely" ? 
According as Christ appears in our view, the evidence of our 
spiritual state is favorable or unfavorable ; and by this test, we 
may try our hope of acceptance through him, and of reigning with 
him for ever. 

In the ordinary experience of mankind, the affections are 
attracted most strongly by objects near at hand. To the imagi- 
nation, distance may lend enchantment ; but the affections of the 
heart play around the fireside, and fix their firmest hold on those 
with whom we converse most familiarly. In accordance with this 

1 1 Cor. xv. 28. 2 Acts iii. 21. 



230 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

tendency of our nature, the Son of God attracted the hearts of men, 
by dwelling among them, and exhibiting himself in familiar inter^ 
course with them, and in the endearing relations well known in 
human society. We see him, as the affectionate brother and friend, 
weeping in the sorrows of others, and alleviating their sufferings by 
words and acts of kindness. The tenderness with which, when 
hanging on the cross, he committed his mother to the care of his 
beloved disciple, is an example of filial love, which cannot be 
contemplated with an unmoved heart. In the simple narratives of 
his life, which have been given for our instruction, we trace his 
course in his daily walk as a man among men, going about doing 
good, and the traits of character exhibited in this familiar inter- 
course, call forth our love. The heavens have now received him 
out of our sight, but we know that, in fulfilment of his promise, he 
is always with us ; and we are taught to regard him, not only as 
near at hand, but also as sympathizing with our infirmities, having 
been tempted in all points as we are. In the humanity of Jesus, 
we see the loveliness of the divine perfections familiarly and 
intelligibly exhibited. 

It sometimes happens, in the experience of mankind, that persons 
of extraordinary merit remain for a time in obscurity, and that 
those who have been most intimate with them have been taken by 
surprise, when the unsuspected greatness of their character has 
been disclosed. Writers of fiction know how to interest the feelings, 
by presenting great personages under disguise, and unveiling them 
at a fit moment, to produce impression. But incidents, infinitely 
transcending all fiction, are found in the true history of Jesus 
Christ, in which the concealed majesty of his divinity broke forth, 
and caused surpassing astonishment. The humble sleeper in the 
boat on the Lake of Tiberias, comes forth from his slumbers, and 
stills the raging water ; and the beholders of the miracle exclaim : 
"What manner of man is this?" The weary traveller arrives at 
Bethany, and claims to be the resurrection and the life, and 
demonstrates the truth of his claim, by calling the dead Lazarus 
from the tomb. As a condemned malefactor, he hangs on the cross, 
and expires with such exhibitions of divinity, that the astonished 
Roman centurion cried: "Truly this man was the Son of God." 
We have contemplated the divinity of Jesus Christ, not merely in 
these transient outbursts which occurred while he was on earth, 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 231 

but in the full demonstration which has been given since he 
ascended to heaven, and the impression on our hearts ought to be 
strong and abiding. The disciples who attended on his personal 
ministry loved and honored him ; but when they saw him ascend 
to heaven, being more deeply impressed with his divinity, they 
worshipped him. Let us devoutly join in rendering him divine 
honor. 

We read with interest the history of men who have passed through 
great changes in their condition, and who, in every condition, have 
displayed great and noble qualities. But no changes of condition 
possible to men, can equal those which the Son of God has undergone. 
Once rich in his original glory, he became so poor that he had not 
where to lay his head : and from this depth of poverty, he has been 
exalted to supreme dominion, and made proprietor and ruler of all 
worlds. Through these changes he has ever exhibited such moral 
perfections as have been most pleasing to God. In whatever 
condition we view him, let us delight in him, as did his Father. 

The offices which Christ sustains toward us, are such as have 
been in highest repute among men. Prophets, priests, and kings 
have always been accounted worthy of honor. We should give 
the highest honor to Christ, who, as a prophet, is superior to 
Moses ; as a priest, superior to Aaron ; and as a king, the Lord of 
David. These offices, as exercised by Christ, deserve our honor, 
not only because of their excellence, but also because of their 
adaptedness to us. We are, by nature, ignorant, guilty, and 
depraved. As ignorant, we need Christ, the prophet, to teach us ; 
as guilty, we need Christ, the priest, to make atonement for us ; 
and as depraved, we need Christ, the king, to rule over us, and 
bring all our rebellious passions into subjection. These offices of 
Christ are also adapted to the graces which distinguish and adorn 
the Christian character. The chief of these, as enumerated by 
Paul, are faith, hope, and love ; in the exercise of faith, we receive 
the truth, revealed by Christ, the prophet ; in the exercise of hope, 
we follow Christ, the priest, who has entered into the holiest of all, 
to appear before God for us ; and we submit to Christ, the king, in 
the exercise of love, which is the fulfilling of the law, the principle 
and sum of all holy obedience. 

In the theology of the ancient Christians, Christ held a central 
and vital place. If we take away from the epistles of Paul all that 



232 DOCTRINE CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST. 

is said about Christ, what mutilation shall we make ? If, when we 
have opened anywhere to read, as at 1 Cor. ch. i., we expunge 
Christ, what have we left ? Paul, while in ignorance and unbelief, 
thought that he did God service, by persecuting Jesus of Nazareth. 
But when his eyes were opened, to see that the despised Nazarene, 
whom his nation had crucified, was the Lord of Glory, when he 
learned that in him are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, 
unsearchable riches, and the fulness of grace, the heart of the 
persecutor was changed, and he became devoted to the service of 
him whom he had sought to destroy. Henceforth, he counted all 
things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. 
Has our knowledge of Christ produced a like effect on us ? If our 
hearts are in unison with that of the great Apostle, we are prepared 
to say, from the inmost soul, " Though we, or an angel from heaven, 
preach any other gospel," a gospel of which Christ is not the centre 
and the sum, "let him be accursed." 1 "If any man love not our 
Lord Jesus Christ, let him be be anathema maranatha." 2 

In our investigation of religious truth, we have found four 
sources of knowledge : our own moral feelings, the moral feelings 
and judgments of others, the course of nature, and the book of 
divine revelation. The first three of these can give us no 
knowledge of Jesus Christ and his great salvation. For this 
knowledge we are wholly indebted to the Bible. Yet, when we 
have learned our lost and helpless state by nature, the scheme of 
salvation which the Bible reveals is so perfectly adapted to our 
condition, that it brings with it its own evidence of having origi- 
nated in the wisdom of God. 

When Paul preached the gospel of salvation, he knew nothing 
but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. He gloried in nothing, save 
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have tarried long in our 
meditations on the doctrine concerning Jesus Christ ; and, before 
we dismiss the subject, it may be profitable to linger yet a little 
time at the cross, that we may again survey its glory, and feel its 
soul-subduing power. 

In the cross of Christ, all the divine perfections are gloriously 
and harmoniously displayed. Infinite love, inviolable truth, and 
inflexible justice are all seen, in their brightest and most beautifully 

1 Gal. i. 8. 2 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 



OFFICES OF CHRIST. 233 

mingled colors. The heavens declare the glory of God ; but the 
glory of the cross outshines the wonders of the skies. God's moral 
perfections are here displayed, which are the highest glory of his 
character. 

The cross of Christ is our only hope of life everlasting. On 
him who hangs there, our iniquities were laid, and from his wounds 
flows the blood that cleanses from all sin. Our faith views the 
bleeding victim, and peacefully relies on the great atoning sacrifice. 
It views mercy streaming from the cross ; and to the cross it comes 
to obtain every needed blessing. 

In the cross, the believer finds the strongest motive to holiness. 
As we stand before it, and view the exhibition of the Saviour's 
love, we resolve to live to him who died for us. The world ceases 
to charm. We become crucified to the world, and the world 
crucified to us. Sin appears infinitely hateful. We regard it as 
the accursed thing which caused the death of our beloved Lord ; 
and we grow strong in the purpose to wage against it an extermi- 
nating war. By all the Saviour's agonies, we vow to have no 
peace with it for ever. The cross is the place for penitential tears. 
We look on him whom we have pierced, and mourn. Our hearts 
bleed at the sight of the bleeding sufferer, murdered by our sins ; 
and we resolve that the murderers shall die. The cross is a holy 
place, where we learn to be like Christ, to hate sin as he hated it, 
and to delight in the law of God which was in his heart. In the 
presence of the cross, we feel that omnipotent grace has hold of 
our heart ; and we surrender to dying love. 

The wisdom of man did not devise the wonderful plan of 
salvation. As well might we suppose that it directed the great 
Creator, when he spread abroad the heavens, and laid the founda- 
tions of the earth. But as in the heavens and earth, human reason 
may see the power and wisdom of God, so, to the Christian 
heart, Christ crucified is the power of God, and the wisdom of 
God. The doctrine of the cross needs no other demonstration of 
its divine origin, than its power to sanctify the heart, and bring it 
into willing and joyful subjection to Christ. 



BOOK SIXTH. 
DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT. 



INTRODUCTION. 

DUTY OF LIVING AND WALKING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. 1 

We live, move, and have our being in God. His presence is 
ever with us ; and by his power, we are, at every moment, upheld 
in being, and the faculties and powers, from which all movements, 
corporeal or mental, proceed, are preserved in existence and action. 
Such is our constant and immediate dependence on God. We are, 
in like manner and degree, dependent on the Holy Spirit, for the 
existence of spiritual life, and for the faculties and powers neces- 
sary to all spiritual action. Our dependence on the Holy Spirit 
extends still further. The very disposition to holy action, proceeds 
from the Spirit; and the production of this disposition, is his 
peculiar work in sanctification. In our natural actions, we live 
and move in God ; in our spiritual actions, we live and walk in the 
Holy Spirit. 

The Scripture representations of our dependence on the Holy 
Spirit, are full and strong. Our spiritual life comes from him, for 
it is the Spirit that quickeneth ; 2 and he is called the Spirit of Life. 3 
When the prophet saw the dead bones in the valley, he prayed : 
" Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe upon these 
slain, that they may live ;" 4 and the spirit of life entered into them. 

1 Gal. v. 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 

2 John vi. 63. " 3 Rom. viii. 2. 4 Ez. xxxvii. 9. 

(234) 



LIVING AND WALKING IN THE HOLY SPIKIT. 235 

So souls, dead in trespasses and sins, are quickened by the Holy 
Spirit. And we live in the Holy Spirit as dependent on him for 
spiritual life, as the body is dependent for animal life on the 
atmosphere which we breathe. Hence proceed the earnest prayers, 
that the Holy Spirit may be granted, and may not be taken away. 1 
And hence the bestowment of the Holy Spirit is regarded as the 
giving of all good. 2 The importance of the Holy Spirit's influence 
in the exercises of the spiritual life, may be inferred from such 
passages as the following: "Led by the Spirit;" 3 "Mind the things 
of the Spirit;" 4 "Filled with the Spirit ;" 5 " The Spirit lusteth 
against the flesh ;" 6 " If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds 
of the body, ye shall live ;" 7 " The Spirit helpeth our infirmity ;" 8 
"Changed into the same image by the Spirit;" 9 "The Spirit 
beareth witness with our spirits." 10 

No believer, who has any just sense of his dependence on the 
Holy Spirit, for the divine life which he enjoys, and all its included 
blessings, can be indifferent towards the Agent by whom all this 
good is bestowed. He cannot willingly " grieve the Holy Spirit, 
by whom he is sealed to the day of redemption." He will seek to 
know, in all things, what is the mind of the Spirit ; and, to him, 
the communion of the Holy Spirit will be the sweetest foretaste of 
heaven, that can be enjoyed on earth. And to him, therefore, the 
study of the Holy Spirit's character and office, will be a source of 
delight. 

1 Ps. li. 11, 12. 2 Compare Matt. vii. 11 with Luke xi. 13 

3 Gal. v. 18. * Rom. viii. 5. 5 Eph. v. 18. 

* Gal. v. 17. 7 Rom. viii. 13. 8 Rom. viii. 26. 

• 2 Cor. iii. 18. l0 Rom. viii. 16. 



236 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

CHAPTER I. 

personality of the holy spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is a person, distinct from the father 
and the Son. 1 

The Holy Spirit is a person, and not a mere influence or 
operation. This may be proved by the following arguments : 

1. When Christ promised his coming as another Comforter, the 
language clearly refers to him as a person: "I will pray the 
Father, and he shall give you another Comforter that he may 
abide with, you." 2 " The Comforter whom the Father will send in 
my name, he shall teach you." 3 

2. Things are, in the Holy Scriptures, attributed to the Holy 
Spirit, which can be true only of a person : " He divideth to every 
man severally as he will ;" 4 " Separate me Barnabas and Saul for 
the work whereunto I have called them;" 5 "Why hath Satan filled 
thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost;" 6 "Grieve not the Holy 
Spirit." 7 

3. The commission given to the apostles required them to 
baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost. 8 A mere influence or virtue, could not thus be 
associated with the Father and the Son ; nor would it accord with 
the language of Scripture, to speak of the name of an influence ; 
or with the analogy of faith, to administer baptism in the name 
of an influence. In the apostolical benediction, the Holy Spirit is 
connected, in a similar manner, with the Father and the Son : 
" The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the 
communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." 9 In 1 Cor. xii. 
4-6, the Holy Spirit is introduced, together with God the Father, 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, as a personal agent equally with them. 

1 Isaiah xlviii. 16 ; Matt. iii. 16 ; John xiv. 16, 26 ; xvi. 7 ; Acts x. 19, 20 ; 
xiii. 2; xv. 28; xx. 28; Eph. iv. 30; Matt, xxviii. 19. 

2 John xiv. 16. 3 John xiv. 26. * 1 Cor. xii. 11. 
6 Acts xiii. 2. 6 Acts v. 3. 7 Eph. iv. 30. 

8 Matt, xxviii. 19. 9 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 



PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 237 

To these arguments, it may be opposed, that the Scriptures 
frequently use the words Spirit, Holy Spirit, to denote divine 
influence. But it is very common, in language, for an influence 
to be designated by the name of the source from which it emanates. 
We say : " This plant thrives in the shade ; that, in the sun ;" but 
by the word sun, we mean, not the body of the luminary, but the 
light and heat emanating from it. So, when it is said : " He will 
report that God is in you of a truth," 1 the general omnipresence 
of God is not meant ; for this is equally true of all persons and 
places. A peculiar presence, implying special divine influence, is 
intended. It would be improper to argue from this passage, that 
God is nothing but an influence ; and it is, in the same manner, 
improper to argue that the Holy Spirit is not a person, because 
the name is used in the Scriptures for the influence which he, as a 
personal agent, exerts. 

The frequency with which the name is used to denote the 
influence exerted, may perhaps be accounted for, from the fact, 
that the name is given to the agent, because of his influence. It 
cannot denote anything peculiar in the nature of the agent ; for 
the first and second persons in the Godhead, are, in their nature, 
spirit, and holy, as truly as the third. The name must, therefore, 
be regarded as distinguishing him with reference to his operation. 
He is called holy, because he is the immediate agent in the 
production of holiness ; and he is called the Spirit, the Spirit of 
God, because he is the immediate agent in exerting the invisible, 
life-giving, divine influence which proceeds from God. 

The Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son. The 
same passages which prove his personality prove this also. He 
could not be another Comforter, if he were not distinct from the 
Son ; nor sent by the Father, if he were not distinct from the 
Father. In the commission to baptise, and in the benediction, his 
personality is not more manifest than the distinction from the 
Father and the Son, with whom he is named. 

1 1 Cor. xiv. 25. 



238 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT. 



CHAPTER II. 

the divinity of the holy spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is God. 1 

When we have ascertained that there is a person to whom the 
name Holy Spirit is applied, we can have little difficulty in arriving 
at the conclusion that he is a divine person. The following argu- 
ments establish this truth. 

1. In the commission he is equally included with the Father and 
the Son, in the name into which we are baptised. If he is not 
God, when we devote ourselves to him in our baptism, we are guilty 
of idolatry. It is no objection to this argument, that Paul says 
the Israelites were baptised unto Moses. 2 A formal baptism in the 
name of Moses is neither affirmed nor intended. An analogy is 
exhibited between the course of a believer who dedicates himself 
to Christ in baptism, and the course of the Israelites, who gave 
themselves up to the guidance of Moses, from the Red Sea to the 
promised land : but an analogy only is all that is intended. The 
Corinthians were not baptised in the name of Paul ; 3 though it was 
their duty to follow him as he followed Christ : and the Israelites 
were not baptised in the name of Moses ; though they followed 
him as their leader. The Angel, in whom the name of God was, 
went before them, in the pillar of cloud and fire ; and Moses, 
equally with all the rest, followed his guidance, and acknowledged 
his authority. 

2. In the benediction, the Spirit is named, equally with the 
Father and the Son, and regarded as the source of spiritual bless- 
ings. The words may be considered a prayer to the Holy Spirit, 
for the bestowment of these blessings. 

3. When the bodies of believers are called the temple of the 

1 Matt, xxviii. 19 ; Heb. ix. 14 ; Ps. cxxxix. 7 ; 1 Cor. vi. 19 ; 2 Cor. vi. 16 ; 
Acts v. 3, 4. 
2 1 Cor. x. 2. 8 1 Cor. i. 13. 



THE DIVINITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 239 

Holy Ghost, 1 the deity of the Holy Ghost is recognised. They 
to whom temples of wood or stone were erected, were regarded as 
deities : and he to whom the bodies of the saints are temples, must 
be God. But we are not left to our own inference on this subject. 
Paul has drawn the conclusion for us : for after having stated that 
the bodies of the saints are the temples of the Holy Ghost, he 
speaks of them as belonging to God ; 2 and in another place, when 
speaking of the saints as a temple, he calls the building a " habita- 
tion of God through the Spirit." 3 The same view is presented in 
1 Cor. iii. 16 : " Know ye not, that ye are the temple of God, and 
that the spirit of God dwelleth in you ? If any man defile the 
temple of God, him shall God destroy: for the temple of God is 
holy, which temple ye are." So the heathen deities were imagined 
to dwell in the temples dedicated to them ; and so God was in his 
holy temple at Jerusalem. 

4. The heinousness of the sin against the Holy Ghost, is prodf 
of his divinity. When Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy 
Ghost, Peter explained the enormity of their sin in these words : 
" Thou hast not lied to men, but to God. 4 To sin against the Holy 
Ghost, is to sin, not against a creature, but against God. This 
argument acquires greatly increased force, when we consider the 
words of Christ : " All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be for- 
given unto men ; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall 
not be forgiven unto men. 5 Whatever be the reason that renders 
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost unpardonable, it must include in 
it that he is God. If he is not God, sin committed against him 
would be less heinous than that committed against the Father and 
the Son. 

5. Passages of the Old Testament which speak of Jehovah, 
the Supreme God, are, in the New Testament, applied to the Holy 
Ghost. 6 

6. The attributes of God are applied, in Scripture, to the Holy 
Spirit. 



1 1 Cor. vi. 19. 2 1 Cor. vi. 20. 3 Eph. ii. 22. 

4 Acts v. 3, 4. 5 Matt. xii. 31. 

6 Ex. xvii. 7 compared with Heb. iiL 9 ; Isaiah vi. 8, with Acts xxviii. 25 ; 
Jer. xxxi. 31-34, with Heb. x. 15-17. 



240 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE HOLT SPIRIT." 

Eternity. "Who through the eternal Spirit offered himself 
without spot to God." 1 

Omnipresence. " Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? and whither 
shall I flee from thy presence ?" 2 

Omniscience. " The Spirit searcheth all things ; yea, the deep 
things of God." 3 

7. Divine works are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. 

Creation. The Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters." 4 
" By his Spirit he garnished the heavens. 5 

Providence. " Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created ; 
and thou renewest the face of the earth." 6 

Miracles. " If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the 
kingdom of God is come unto you." 7 " To another is given the 
working of miracles by the same Spirit." 8 

Resurrection of Christ. " Declared to be the Son of God with 
power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from 
the dead." 9 Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the 
Spirit." 10 

Resurrection of believers. " If the Spirit of him that raised up 
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from 
the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that 
dwelleth in you." 11 

1 Heb. ix. 14. 2 Ps. cxxxix. 7. s 1 Cor. ii. 10. 

4 Gen. i. 2. 6 Job xxvi. 13. 6 Ps. civ. 30. 

7 Matt. xii. 28. 8 1 Cor. xii. 10. 9 Horn. i. 4. 

10 1 Pet. iii. 18. u Rom. viii, 11. 



OFFICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 241 

CHAPTER III. 

office of the holy spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier and Comforter of 
God's people. 1 

The Holy Spirit is the author of holiness in all those who are 
saved : " Through sanctification of the Spirit." 2 " Ye are washed, 
ye are sanctified by the Spirit of our God." 3 He is the author 
of the new or spiritual life which is produced in regeneration. 4 
Not only the beginning of the new life, but its whole progress, is 
dependent on the Spirit : wherefore, believers are said to live in 
the Spirit, 5 to walk in the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit, 6 and to be 
filled with the Spirit ; 7 and, for this reason David prayed, " Take 
not thy Holy Spirit from me." 8 As it is his office to change the 
soul, and from a state of death in trespasses and sins, bring it into 
a new life, so it is his office to change our vile body, and fashion 
it like the glorious body of Christ : " He that raised up Jesus 
from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit 
that dwelleth in you. 9 As both body and spirit are redeemed by 
Christ, so both body and spirit are changed by the Holy Spirit, 
and fitted for the presence and enjoyment of God. 

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter of God's people. By his 
teaching, the knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins is 
obtained. The Saviour promised : " He shall take of mine, and 
shall show it unto you." 10 In fulfilment of this promise, the Spirit 
makes known the sufficiency and suitableness of Christ as a Saviour, 
and the efficacy of his blood to cleanse from sin. By the Holy 
Spirit the promises of the divine word are applied to the heart. 
Hence, peace and joy are called the fruit of the Spirit. 11 These 
spiritual enjoyments, which are a foretaste of heaven, are called 

1 Ps. li. 10-12 ; Ezek.xxxvi. 27; John xiv. 26 ; Acts ix. 31 ; Kom. v. 5 ; viii. 
13, 16, 26; 1 Cor. vi. 11 ; 2 Cor. i. 22 ; iii. 18 ; Gal. v. 22 ; 2 Thes. ii. 13. 

2 1 Pet. i. 2. 3 1 Cor. vi. 11. 4 John iii. 6. 

6 Gal. v. 25. 6 Gal. v. 18. 7 Eph. v. 18. . 

8 Ps. li. 11. 9 Rom. viii. 11. i0 John xvi. 15. 

11 Gal. v. 22. 
16 



242 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE HOLT SPIRIT. 

" the earnest of the Spirit." 1 And, as the earnest is given by him, 
we have reason to conclude that the full possession will be given 
by him. As Christ will be the medium through which the felicity 
of the future world will be bestowed ; so, the Holy Spirit will be 
the immediate agent in bestowing it. The first comfort here below, 
and the full bliss and glory of heaven, are alike his work. 



CONCLUSION. 



Adam became a living soul when God breathed into him the 
breath of life : 2 and from that time, the process of breathing is 
evidence that life exists. Prayer may be regarded as the breath- 
ing of the spiritual man. Sufficient proof was given that Saul of 
Tarsus had been converted, when the Lord said, "Behold, he 
prayeth." 3 True prayer proceeds from the Holy Spirit, imparting 
spiritual life, and enkindling those spiritual desires which find 
their vent in prayer. These desires are breathed into the bosom 
of God, in the exercise of filial confidence in him ; and, being in 
accordance with the will of God, 4 they are regarded by him with 
favor, and obtain answers of grace and peace. 

From this view of prayer, we may see the propriety of the 
Apostle's injunction : "Pray without ceasing." 5 The cessation of 
prayer would be the cessation of spiritual life. A form of words 
may not be incessantly used ; but spiritual desires must ever have 
place in the heart ; and the habit must ever exist, of looking to 
God for the fulfilment of these desires. This constant intercourse 
with God is the life of faith. We live with him, converse with 
him, and enjoy communion with him, through the Holy Spirit 
which dwelleth in us. 

We often complain that our prayers are not answered ; but it 
would be profitable to inquire, what those unanswered petitions 
were. Did we ask for wealth, power, and long life ? If so, our 
desires were carnal, and did not proceed from the Spirit of God. 

1 Eph. i. 13, 14 ; 2 Cor. i. 22. 2 Gen. ii. 7. 8 Acts ix. 11. 

4 Rom. viii. 27. 5 1 Thess. v. 17. 



OFFICE OF THE HOLY SPIIIIT. 243 

We must learn to regulate our desires by the will of God, and our 
prayers will be sure to obtain a gracious hearing. 

Sincere prayer begins with the very commencement of spiritual 
life. An infant's cries express its wants, before it knows how to 
express them in words; and the tender mother will understand 
this inarticulate language. So the desires of the spiritual infant 
may be signified by groanings which cannot be uttered:" 1 but the 
Lord understands these groans, and knoweth what is the mind of 
the Spirit, who maketh intercession for them. As the lamb in 
the bosom of the kind shepherd ; as the babe on the breast of its 
tender mother ; so the spiritual babe reposes on the bosom of eter- 
nal love ; and in that bosom breathes all its desires. 

Spiritual life, evidenced at first by the breathing of prayer, is 
afterwards indicated by spiritual growth. To be spiritual, we 
must not ever remain babes in religion. Paul said to the Corin- 
thians, " I could not speak unto you, as unto spiritual, but as unto 
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." 2 Spiritual life is progress- 
ive, and tends to make us men, strong men in Christ Jesus. The 
truth of God supplies the milk for babes, and the strong meat for 
those who have attained to greater age. 3 We have been engaged 
in the study of this truth ; and it will be well for us to inquire 
whether our spiritual life has been nourished by it, and whether 
we are growing in faith, and love, and every grace. Unless the 
truth strengthens the inner man, and gives increased vigor in the 
Christian life, our study of it has been in vain. 

1 Rom. viii. 26. 8 1 Cor. iii. 1. 8 1 Pet. ii. 2 : Heb. v. 12. 



BOOK SEVENTH, 
DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 



INTRODUCTION. 



As love is the affection which should arise in our hearts, from a 
view of God's character, so gratitude is the affection which should 
be produced, by a view of the benefits that he confers. The stream 
of his benefits flows incessantly so that our cup is ever full. To 
receive the benefits thoughtlessly, like the brutes that perish, and 
to enjoy them without thanksgiving to him from whom they come, 
is demonstration complete of human depravity. Such demonstra- 
tion is given daily and hourly in the conduct of mankind, and by 
it God is offended and his wrath provoked. The unthankful man 
is the evil man, 2 and the enemy of God. Hence, when we are 
called on to love our enemies, the example proposed for our imita- 
tion is the bestowment of God's providential blessing on the 
unthankful. 

Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing 
again, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the child- 
ren of the Highest ; for He is kind unto the unthankful and to 
the evil. 



1 2 Thess. ii. 13. We are bound to thank God alway for you, brethren, 
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to sal 
vation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. 

1 Cor. xv. 10. By the grace of God, I am what I am. 

2 Cor. ix. 15. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. 
2 Luke vi. 35. 

(244) 



DUTY OF GRATITUDE FOR DIVINE GRACE. 245 

We are bound to thank God for the blessings of providence so 
incessantly and so richly bestowed ; but far higher obligations to 
gratitude, arise from the grace that bringeth salvation. 1 This 
grace includes God's gift of his Son, a gift so great that no name 
for it can be found. " God so loved the world, that he gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life." 2 The love of the Son, which 
demands our gratitude, is not less unmeasured, than the love of 
the Father : whence Paul labored to explore " the height, the length, 
the breadth and the depth of the love of Christ, which passeth 
knowledge." 3 And our gratitude is not complete till we acknow- 
ledge and celebrate also, the love of the Spirit, 4 by whom believers 
are fitted for the enjoyment of God, and brought into fellowship 
with him. 

In exercising and cultivating our gratitude for the blessings of 
salvation, we must distinctly recognise that they come from God, 
and that they are intentionally bestowed. When we trace them to 
their source, the infinite love of the triune God ; and when we re- 
ceive them, as conferred according to his eternal counsel, we are 
prepared while we enjoy the benefit, to return thanks to its Author, 
and to exclaim with liveliest emotion, "Bless the Lord, my soul, 
and forget not all his benefits." 5 

That our gratitude to God may be proportional to the blessing 
received, we should count his mercies over, and survey their mag- 
nitude. Unmeasurable ! unspeakable ! passing knowledge ! — yet we 
should labor to know them ; and as we make progress in this spirit- 
ual knowledge, our gratitude should swell and fill the enlarged 
capacity of the mind. 

In order to the full exercise of gratitude to God it is necessary 
to be thoroughly impressed with the conviction that the blessings 
received are wholly undeserved, and proceed entirely from the 
mere mercy and grace of God. When we feel that we are less 
than the least of all God's mercies, that our only desert is hell, 
and that if salvation is bestowed on us, it will be of his own good 
pleasure ; we are prepared to give thanks for the unspeakable gift, 
and to say, " Not unto us, Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name 
give glory." 6 

1 Tit. ii. 11. 2 John iii. 16. 3 Eph. iii. 18, 19. 

* Rom. xv. 30. 5 Ps. ciii. 2. 6 Ps. cxv. 



246 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

CHAPTER I. 

the trinity. 

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are three persons in 
one divine essence. 1 

The unity of God is a fundamental doctrine of religion ; and 
no doctrine can be true which is inconsistent with it. All admit 
that the Father is God ; and we have seen that the Son is God, 
and the Holy Spirit is God, according to the teachings of the 
sacred Scriptures. To reconcile the proper deity of these three, 
with the strict unity of God, is a matter of great difficulty. All 
admit that they cannot be three and one in the same respect ; and 
divines have usually held that they are three in person, and one in 
essence. 

The doctrine of a three-fold distinction in the Godhead, belongs 
especially to the economy of grace, and is therefore more clearly 
revealed in the New Testament than in the Old. Some intimations 
of it, however, may be found in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the 
very first verse of the Bible, the name of God is plural, and the 
verb " created," with which it is construed, is singular. This 
countenances the opinion, that there is plurality as well as unity 
in the Godhead. But since words which are plural in form, are 
sometimes used to denote objects which are singular, this argument 
for a plurality in the Godhead cannot be regarded as in itself con- 
clusive. It derives strength, however, from two considerations: 
1. The Hebrew scriptures guard the doctrine of God's unity with 
great care; and if all plurality were inconsistent with it, this 
important purpose of the revelation made to the Hebrews, would 
have been better subserved if none but singular names for the 
deity had been admitted, yet plural names are very commonly 
employed. And in one remarkable case, the Hebrew name Mohim, 
is used in an express declaration of the divine unity. " Hear, 
Israel, Jehovah, our Elohim, is one Jehovah." 2 Why was the 

1 Matt, xxviii. 19 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 14 ; Rev. i. 4 ; Gen. i. 26 ; iii. 22 ; xi. 7 ; 
Isaiah xlviii. 16 ; John xiv. 16 ; Matt. iii. 16, 17. 

2 Deut. vi. 4. 



. 



THE TRINITY. 247 

plural name here introduced ? The declaration of the divine unity- 
would have been complete without it. If it was introduced to 
guard against an improper inference from the use of plural names, 
it shows the use of such names to have been dangerous, and 
therefore difficult to reconcile with the wisdom of revelation. If 
the name Jehovah be understood to refer to the divine essence ; 
and the name Elohim, to the three divine persons ; the passage 
may be interpreted consistently and beautifully, and it becomes 
an explicit declaration of the New Testament doctrine. 2. The 
Hebrew scriptures contain other intimations of a plurality in the 
Godhead. Plural pronouns are applied to God, and consultation 
is attributed to him. " Let us make man." 1 " Let us go down and 
confound their language." 2 A consultation with created beings 
cannot here be supposed. The opinion that God spoke in these cases, 
after the pompous manner of eastern monarchs, besides being, on 
other accounts, wholly improbable, is completely set aside, by the 
passage, "Behold, the man is become as one of us." 3 No eastern 
monarch ever spoke of his individual unity, in this style. No 
consistent interpretation of this language can be given, without 
admitting a plurality in the Godhead ; and this admission explains 
the use of plural names for God. 

That the plurality in the Godhead is three-fold, has been inferred 
from the three- fold ascription of holiness 4 to God, and the three-fold 
benediction of the High Priest. 5 A more satisfactory argument is 
derived from passages in which the three divine persons are distinctly 
brought to view. 6 

This doctrine is more clearly revealed in the New Testament. 
In the formula of Christian baptism it is clearly exhibited. 7 We 
are baptised into one name, because God is one ; but that is the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
because it belongs alike to each of these divine persons. Here, 
this doctrine meets us, at our very entrance on the profession of 
the Christian religion. If Christ was not God, he was justly 
condemned to death, and his religion is false ; and the Holy Spirit, 
the Comforter whom he promised, is as little entitled to regard as 

1 Gen. i. 26. 2 Gen. xi. 7. 8 Gen. iii. 22. 

4 Isaiah vi. 3. * 6 Num. vi. 24-26. 

6 Isaiah xlviii. 16 ; lxi. 1 ; Ixiii. 7-10. 7 Matt, xxviii. 19. 



248 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

he was. If Christ and the Holy Spirit are not God, the form of 
baptism should be rejected, as of a piece with the false religion 
into which it introduces us. No man can consistently receive 
Christian baptism, without believing the doctrine of the Trinity. 

We have spoken of this doctrine as belonging especially to the 
economy of grace. It is here that it is most clearly unfolded 
to our view, and without this doctrine, the covenant of grace, 
and its developments in the great work of salvation, cannot be 
understood. Yet there are fainter exhibitions of the doctrine in 
other works of God. This is true of creation. The consultation 
at the creation of man has already been noticed, as a proof of 
plurality in the Godhead. Moses says, " The Spirit of God moved 
on the face of the waters." Job says, " By his Spirit he garnished 
the heavens. John says, " By him (the Word) all things were 
made." 1 All the divine persons, therefore, were concerned in 
creation : and other passages teach that they are also concerned 
in providence. 2 

The most sober-minded divines admit that there is incompre- 
hensible mystery in the doctrine of the Trinity. All attempts to 
explain it have failed. Two methods which have been proposed to 
bring it within our comprehension, deserve special notice. 

Some who are called Sabellians, maintain, that the distinction 
between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, is official and 
not personal. They hold that God is one in person, as well as in 
essence; but that he manifests himself in three different ways, 
and that the three different names denote these three modes of 
manifestation. This simplifies the doctrine ; but it does not accord 
with the Scriptures. According to this view of the doctrine, we 
might paraphrase the words of Christ, in John, xiv. 16, thus : " I, 
who am the same person with the Father, will pray the Father, 
who is no other than myself, in a different office, or mode of 
manifestation, and he shall give you another comforter, who is not 
another, but the same person as my Father and myself." We see, 
from this specimen, that this explanation of the doctrine is at 
variance with the word of God. 

Others admit the distinction of persons in the Godhead, and 

1 Gen. i. 2; Job xxvi. 13 ; John i. 3. 2 Heb. i. 3 ; Isaiah xxxiv. 15, 16. 



THE TRINITY. 249 

explain that the three possess one essence, just as three men, 
Peter, James, and John, possess one nature. This is Tritheism. 
It makes the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three Gods, just as 
Peter, James, and John, are three men. If we may call the three 
persons one God, merely because they are alike in their nature ; 
we may, with equal reason, call all mankind one man ; and we may 
maintain that Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, and all the heathen deities 
were one God. Paul's distinction, " There are gods many ; but 
to us there is but one God," 1 is a distinction without a difference ; 
for the many gods are one, in the same sense in which the three 
divine persons are supposed to be one. This explanation must, 
therefore, be rejected, as inconsistent with the proper unity of 
God. 

Attempts have frequently been made, to illustrate the mystery 
of the Trinity, by means of material objects. One of these may 
be cited as a specimen of the rest. Water, ice, and snow, it is 
said, are different things, and yet they are but one. For aught 
that appears, it would have served quite as well, to illustrate the 
mystery, by three separate glasses of water, all in the liquid form. 
The distinction between them would have been as perfect ; and the 
identity of nature would have been as real, and more apparent. 
All such illustrations darken counsel with words without knowledge. 
What shall we liken unto the Lord ? 

These efforts to explain the doctrine, are not simply fruitless, 
but they lead to error. If the mind receives satisfaction from 
them, it is by a false view of God's mode of existence, and thinking 
him such an one as ourselves. It is far wiser to admit, that none 
by searching can find out God : and to abstain from unavailing 
efforts to comprehend what is incomprehensible to our finite minds. 
What God tells us on the subject, we ought to believe ; and with 
this measure of knowledge, we ought to be satisfied ; and all beyond 
this is human speculation, of which it is our duty and interest to 
beware. Nor are we justly liable to the reproach of believing 
what we do not understand. The teaching of divine revelation, 
we may understand, and we should labor to understand ; and the 
mystery which remains unrevealed to our understanding, is not an 
object of our faith. The proposition, God is incomprehensible, is 

1 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6. 



250 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

simple and intelligible, and our faith embraces it. God is the 
subject of this proposition ; and, if a full understanding of the 
subject were necessary to faith, a belief of this proposition would 
be impossible. Though we do not comprehend God, we comprehend 
the meaning of the proposition ; and this is what we believe. So 
the doctrine of the Trinity, as an object of our faith, may be 
expressed in propositions, each one of which is intelligible, notwith- 
standing the incomprehensibility of the subject. 

The view which has been presented, is important, to strengthen 
our faith in the doctrine of the Trinity. So long as we imagine 
that a full comprehension of the subject is necessary to the 
exercise of faith, we must embrace the truth feebly. But let us 
examine the propositions, in which the doctrine may be expressed, 
and we shall find each one of them perfectly intelligible. The 
Father is God ; — the Son is God ; — the Holy Ghost is God ; — there 
is but one God. All these propositions, we may understand, and 
receive with unwavering faith ; while we are well assured that our 
understandings fall infinitely short of comprehending the great 
subject, and that, in harmonizing the last proposition with the 
preceding three, there is a difficulty which finite intelligence cannot 
explain. 

In receiving a truth which is attended with difficulty, our faith 
may be assisted, by noticing that other truths, which we are 
compelled to admit, are attended with equal difficulty. The 
Omnipresence of God, may be shown to be as incomprehensible as 
the Trinity. If, at the same moment, a ball of matter is here, a 
ball there, and a ball yonder, we know that there are three balls. 
If, in the illustration, we substitute an angel for the ball, we know 
that there are three angels in the three places, and not one and 
the same angel. Yet the doctrine of God's omnipresence teaches, 
that a whole deity is here, a whole deity there, and a whole deity 
yonder ; and yet it is one and the same deity which is present at 
each place. If an entire deity may dwell, at the same time, in 
three separate places, and yet be but one, why may not an entire 
deity dwell in the three separate persons, the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Ghost, and yet be but one God ? There is, perhaps, no 
analogy between the two cases, except in this, that they alike 
confound our arithmetic ; but this analogy is sufficient for our 
present purpose. Were God's mode of existence like that of 



THE TRINITY. 251 

created things, either material or spiritual, he could not be in 
several places at the same time, or in three distinct persons ; and 
yet be an undivided unit. We are compelled to admit the omni- 
presence of God, and we should admit, with equal faith, on the 
authority of God's word, the doctrine of the Trinity, ascribing the 
difficulty of the subject to the incomprehensibility of the divine 
nature. 

The doctrine of God's omnipresence has, in one particular, 
greater difficulty, than that of the Trinity. The latter has a relief 
not discoverable in the other, arising from the consideration, that 
God is not three and one in the same respect. God is three in 
person, one in essence ; and, although we may be unable to explain 
the precise difference between person and essence, the fact that 
there is a difference, relieves the doctrine from the charge of 
inconsistency. 

We study the human mind in the phenomena which it exhibits. 
The operations of memory, imagination, reasoning, &c, differ 
widely from each other ; but we refer them all to the one indivisible 
substance, called mind, of which we have no knowledge, except 
what we acquire from the phenomena. What we know of God, we 
learn from the manifestations which he has made of himself, in his 
works and word. In these manifestations, we discover the personal 
distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; yet, as taught by the 
divine word, we refer all the manifestations to the one indivisible 
essence, in which the unity of God consists. It is not a threefold 
manifestation of the same person, as the Sabellians hold ; but a 
manifestation of three distinct persons, counselling and covenanting 
with each other, one sending another, one speaking to another, and 
of the third, &c. Nothing like this appears in the phenomena of 
one human mind : but we cannot thence infer, that it cannot be in 
the manifestations of one divine mind. 

The word Trinity is not in the Bible, and objection has therefore 
been made to its use. As signifying tri-unity, three in one, it is 
an expressive name for the doctrine. As a convenient word, we 
are at liberty to use it, as we do many other words not found in 
the Bible ; and the propriety of using it is the greater, because 
there is no single word in the Bible, which can be substituted for it. 
But we are under no obligation to contend for the name, which is 
human, provided we firmly maintain the doctrine, which is divine. 



252 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

The word person, also, which is used in stating this doctrine, is 
without Scripture precedent. Some have cited, as authority for 
its use, the passage in Heb. i. 3 : " Who being the brightness of 
his glory, and the express image of his person." Here, it is 
alleged, the person of the Father is mentioned ; and, as the Son is 
his express image, we must conclude that he, also, is a person ; 
and, having established the personal distinction between the Father 
and the Son, no doubt can remain, that the Holy Spirit is a third 
person. To all this, it may be answered, that the word person 
is not a good rendering of the Greek word here used, the sense of 
which would be better expressed by the word substance. The 
passage properly interpreted, refers to the full display of the 
Godhead, made through Jesus Christ as mediator, and not to the 
relation subsisting among the divine persons. But though there is 
no Scripture precedent for the use of the word, must it therefore 
be abandoned ? A scrupulosity, which should refuse to use any 
word not found in the Bible, would be unwise, and lead to no good 
result. No one would refuse to apply the word person to Jesus 
Christ, and speak of him as a holy and just person, an extraordi- 
nary or wonderful person ; or to say that his divine and human 
natures are united in one person: yet it would be difficult to 
produce Scripture precedent for this application of the term. Paul 
does speak, in 2 Cor. ii. 10, of "the person of Christ;" but a better 
rendering of this passage would be, "in the presence of Christ;" 
and Pilate's wife said, Mat. xxvii. : " Have thou nothing to do with 
this just person ;" but the word person is here supplied by our 
translators, and has no word corresponding to it in the original 
text. Yet our translators, in applying this word to Christ, have 
conformed to the common usage of the word, adopted and sustained 
by the common sense of mankind. Now, if Jesus Christ was a 
person, in the common acceptation of the term ; and if he addressed 
his Father, and spoke of the Holy Spirit, as one human person 
would address another, and speak of a third, it must be an excessive 
scrupulosity, which refuses to apply the term to the Father, and 
the Holy Spirit, as well as to the Son. Some have preferred to 
substitute the word manifestation; but this is equally without 
Scripture precedent ; and to say, that one manifestation speaks to 
another, and of a third : would be unintelligible. We may, therefore, 
defend the use of the term person, provided we remember that it 



COVENANT OF GRACE. 253 

is a human expedient to avoid circumlocution. But if any one 
proceed to draw from the term, an inference which will affect the 
doctrine, he must be reminded that the word is human. If any 
one should infer, when we speak of the three divine persons, that 
they are as distinct from each other, in every respect, as the threo 
human persons, Peter, James, and John, he is building an inference, 
on a foundation not authorized by the word of God. 



CHAPTER II. 

COVENANT OF GRACE. 



The three Divine Persons co-operate in man's salvation 
according to an eternal covenant. 1 

On a former occasion, it was shown that the Scriptures use the 
term covenant with great latitude of meaning. The propriety of 
its use in the present case, cannot well be questioned. We have 
three divine persons, who are parties in this covenant ; and the 
doctrine of God's unity cannot exclude the notion of a covenant, 
without, at the same time, excluding the distinction of persons in 
the Godhead. We are not to imagine, as included in this covenant 
transaction, a proposal of terms by one party, and a deliberation, 
followed with an acceptance or rejection of them, by the other 
parties. These things occur, in the making of human covenants, 
because of the imperfection of the parties. In condescension to 
our weakness, the Scriptures use language taken from the affairs 
of men. They speak as if a formal proposal had been made, at 
the creation of man, addressed by one of the parties to the others : 
"Let us make man;" but this is in accommodation to our modes 
of conception. An agreement and co-operation of the divine 
persons, in the creation of man, is what is taught in this passage. 
This agreement and co-operation extend to all the works of God : 
"Who worketh all things after the counsel of his will." 2 The idea 



1 Ps. ii. 8 ; xl. 6-8 ; lxxxix. 3 ; Isaiah xlix. 3-12 ; John xvii. 6 ; Heb. xiii. 
20 ; Titus i. 2. 

2 Eph. i. 11. 



254 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

of counsel in all these works, accords with that of consultation 
which is presented in the account of man's creation. In every 
work of God, the divine persons must either agree or disagree. As 
they alike possess infinite wisdom, disagreement among them is 
impossible. The salvation of men is a work of God, in which the 
divine persons concur. It is performed according to an eternal 
purpose ; and in this purpose, as well as in the work, the divine 
persons concur ; and this concurrence is their eternal covenant. 
The purpose of the one God, is the covenant of the Trinity. 

In the work of salvation, the divine persons co-operate in different 
offices ; and these are so clearly revealed, as to render the personal 
distinction in the Godhead more manifest, than it is in any other 
of God's works. Beyond doubt, these official relations are seve- 
rally held, by the perfect agreement of all ; and, speaking after 
the manner of men, the adjustment of these relations, and the 
assignment of the several parts in the work, are the grand stipula- 
tions of the eternal covenant. 

That the covenant is eternal, may be argued from the eternity, 
unchangeableness, and omniscience of the parties, and from the 
declarations of Scripture which directly or indirectly relate to it : 
" Through the blood of the everlasting covenant." 1 " His eternal 
purpose in Christ Jesus." 2 " In hope of eternal life promised 
before the world began." 3 " Grace given in Christ Jesus before 
the world began." 4 

Although God's purpose is one, we are obliged, according to our 
modes of conception, to view it, and speak of it, as consisting of 
various parts. So, the eternal covenant is one ; but it is revealed 
to us in a manner adapted to our conceptions and to our spiritual 
benefit. The work of redemption by Christ is presented in the 
Gospel as the great object of our faith ; and the stipulation for 
the accomplishment of this work, is the prominent point exhibited 
in the revelation which is made to us respecting the covenant of 
grace. The agreement between the Father and the Son is con- 
spicuously brought to view, in various parts of the sacred volume : 
" Thine they were, and thou gavest them me." 5 " Ask of me, and 
I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost 



1 Heb. xiii. 20. 2 Eph. iii. 11. 8 Tit. i. 2 

* 2 Tim. i. 9. 6 John xvii. 6. 



COVENANT OF GRACE. 255 

parts of the earth for thy possession." 1 "Sacrifice and offering 
thou didst not desire. Then said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of 
the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, God;" 2 
and in Isaiah, chapter xlix., the stipulations between the Father 
and the Son are presented, almost as if they had been copied from 
an original record of the transaction. 

According to the covenant arrangement, the Son appeared in 
human nature, in the form of a servant ; and, after obeying unto 
death, was exalted by the Father to supreme dominion. The Holy 
Spirit also is revealed as acting in a subordinate office, being sent 
by the Father and by the Son. The Father alone is not presented 
as acting in a subordinate office ; but appears as sustaining the full 
authority of the Godhead, sending the Son, giving him a people to 
be redeemed, prescribing the terms, accepting the service, reward- 
ing and glorifying the Son, and sending the Holy Spirit. In all 
this the Father appears as the representative of the Godhead, in 
its authority and majesty. The Son also sustains a representative 
character. The promise of eternal life was made, before the world 
began, to the people of God, in him as their representative. The 
reconciliation between God and men is provided for by the cove- 
nant engagement between the Father and the Son ; the Father act- 
ing as the representative of the Godhead, and the Son as the 
representative and surety of his people. The Holy Spirit concurs 
in this arrangement, and takes his part in the work, in harmony 
with the other persons of the Godhead. His peculiar office is 
necessary to complete the plan, and to reward the obedience of the 
Son by the salvation of his redeemed people. The promises of 
the Father to the Son include the gift of the Holy Spirit ; and, 
therefore, the sending of the Spirit is attributed to the Son ; 3 and 
sometimes to the Father at the petition of the Son. 4 

In this order of operation, inferiority of nature is not implied, 
in the subordination of office to which the Son and the Spirit vol- 
untarily consent. The fulness of the Godhead dwells in each of 
the divine persons, and renders the fulfilment of the covenant 
infallibly sure, in all its stipulations. The Holy Spirit, in the 
execution of his office, dwells in believers ; but he brings with him 



1 Ps. ii. 8. • 2 Ps. xl. 6-18. 

3 John xvi. 7. * John xiv. 16. 



256 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

the fulness of the Godhead, so that God is in them, and they are 
the temple of God, and filled with the fulness of God. The Son 
or Word, in the execution of his office, hecomes the man Jesus 
Christ ; but the fulness of the Godhead dwells in him ; so that, 
in his deepest humiliation he is God manifest in the flesh, God over 
all, blessed for ever. 

The order of operation in this mysterious and wonderful econ- 
omy, can be learned from divine revelation only. Here we should 
study it with simple faith, relying on the testimony of God. In 
the representation of it here exhibited, we may discover that the 
blessings of grace, proceeding from God, appear to originate in 
the Father, " of whom are all things," to be conferred through 
the Son, " by whom are all things," and by the Spirit, who is the 
immediate agent in bestowing them, the last in the order of ope- 
ration. The approach to God, in acts of devotion, is in the reverse 
order. The Spirit makes intercession in the saints, moving them, 
as a spirit of supplication, and assisting their infirmities, when 
they know not what to pray for. Their prayers are offered through 
Christ, as tHe medium of approach ; and the Father, as the highest 
representative of the Godhead, is the ultimate object of the wor- 
ship. Through him [Christ] we have access by one Spirit to the 
Father. 1 The Spirit moves us to honor the Son and the Father : 
and for this purpose takes of the things of Christ and shows them 
to us, that we may believe in him, and through him approach the 
Father. In this work he acts for the whole Godhead, and there- 
fore his drawing is ascribed to the Father : " No man can come to 
me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him." 2 When 
we come to Jesus Christ, the whole Godhead meets us again in the 
person of the Mediator : for " God is in Christ reconciling the 
world unto himself." 3 And when we address the Father, as the 
ultimate object of our worship, the whole Godhead is there, and 
receives our adorations. In the covenant of grace, the triune God 
is so presented to the view of the believer, that he may worship 
without distraction of thought, with full confidence of acceptance, 
and with a clear perception that God is to him all and in alL In 
the retirement of the closet, the devotional man addresses God as 
present in the secret place, and holds communion with him, as a 

1 Eph. ii. 18. 2 John vi. 44. 8 2 Cor. v. 19. 



COVENANT OF GRACE. 257 

i 

friend near at hand. When he comes forth into the busy world, 
he sees God all around him, in the heavens, and in the earth ; and 
holds converse with him in this different manifestation of himself. 
When he lifts his thoughts to the high and holy place where God's 
throne is, and prays, "Our Father which art in heaven," his mind 
is directed to the highest and most glorious manifestation of the 
Deity. In all this he suffers no distraction of thought. The same 
omnipresent One is addressed, whether conceived to be in the 
closet, or in the world, or in the highest heavens. With equal 
freedom from distraction we may worship the Infinite One, whether 
we approach him as the Holy Spirit, operating on the heart ; or as 
the Son, the Mediator between God and men ; or as the Father, 
representing the full authority and majesty of the Godhead. We 
worship God, and God alone, whether our devotions are directed 
to the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit ; for the divine essence, 
undivided and indivisible, belongs to each of the three persons. 

To guard against mistake, it should be observed, that the cove- 
nant which we have been considering is not identical with the new 
covenant of which Paul speaks in the epistle to the Hebrews. The 
latter is made, according to the prophecy which he quotes, " with 
the house of Israel and the house of Judah ;"* whereas the cove- 
nant of which we have treated, is not made with man. There is, 
however, a close connection between them. In the eternal cove- 
nant, promises are made to the Son, as the representative of his 
people : in the new covenant, these promises are made to them 
personally, and, in part, fulfilled to them. The promises are made 
to them : " I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a 
people :" 2 and they are, in part, fulfilled. " I will put my law in 
their minds, and write it in their hearts." 

2 Heb. viii. 8. 3 Heb. viii. 10. 

17 



258 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE,. 



CHAPTER III. 

BLESSINGS OP GRACE. 
THE SALVATION OF MEN IS ENTIRELY OF DIVINE GRACE. 1 

Grace is unmerited favor. Paul distinguishes, in Rom. iv. 4, 
between the reward of grace and the reward of debt. When good 
is conferred because it is due, it is not of grace. Whatever may- 
be claimed on the score of justice, cannot be regarded as unmer- 
ited favor. Justice gives to every man according to his works ; 
and if salvation were of works, it could not be of grace. Paul 
has made this matter very plain : "To him that worketh, is the 
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. If by grace, then it is 
no more of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it 
be of works, then it is no more grace ; otherwise work is no more 
work." 2 

For the same reason that salvation is not of works, it is not of 
the law. The law is the rule of justice, and takes cognisance of 
men's works. If it gave life to men, it could be only on the 
ground of their obedience to its requirements ; for its language is, 
" The man that doeth these things shall live by them." 3 Salva- 
tion by the law is declared to be impossible : for if there had been 
a law given which could Ifave given life, verily righteousness should 
have been by the law. 4 The Scriptures represent grace and law 
as opposed to each other : " The law was given by Moses ; but 
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." 5 " Received ye the Spirit 
by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" 6 " It is of 
faith, that it might be by grace." 7 Sometimes the term law is 
used in an extended sense ; as when the law of faith is opposed to 
the law of works ; 8 and the law of the spirit of life, to the law of sin 
and death. 9 Hence we read of " the perfect law of liberty," 10 which 
cannot be the rule of justice : that says, " Cursed is every one 

1 Eph. ii. 5, 7, 8 ; 2 Tim. i. 9 ; Rom. iii. 24 ; viii. 23 ; xi. 5, ; ix. 15, 16. 

2 Rom. xi. 6. 3 Rom. x. 5. 4 Gal. iii. 21. 
6 John i. 17. 6 Gal. iii. 2. 7 Rom. iv. 16. 
8 Rom. iii. 27. 9 Rom. viii. 2. 10 James i. 25. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 259 

that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of 
the law to do them." 1 When the term law is used in this extended 
sense, it denotes the method of salvation by grace through faith, 
and is carefully distinguished from "the law of works." 

The doctrine that salvation is of grace, is taught in the sacred 
Scriptures with great clearness. In the second chapter of the 
epistle to the Ephesians, the declaration is twice made, " By grace 
ye are saved." Paul ascribed his own salvation to grace : " By 
the grace of God, I am what I am." 2 He traces the blessing of 
salvation to " the grace given in Christ Jesus, before the world 
began :" 3 — to " the riches of his grace :" 4 — to " the exceeding riches 
of his grace." 5 

Salvation is entirely of grace. The passages already quoted 
show that salvation is not partly of grace and partly of works. 
Grace and works are so opposed to each other, that, when it is 
affirmed to be of grace, it is denied to be of works : " Not of 
works ; otherwise grace is no more grace." " Not according to our 
works ; but according to his own purpose and grace." 6 The ex- 
clusion of all boasting, 7 was, that the blessing bestowed is entirely 
of grace: "Not of works, lest any man should boast." 8 Our 
works are wholly excluded ; because they are all sinful, and can 
deserve nothing but the wrath of God. Faith renounces all reli- 
ance on our own works, all expectation of favor on their account ; 
and asks and receives every blessing as the gift of divine grace 
through Jesus Christ. When salvation is so received, all boasting 
is effectually excluded. 

That salvation is entirely of divine grace, may be argued from 
the condition in which the Gospel finds mankind. We are justly 
condemned, totally depraved, and, in ourselves, perfectly helpless. 
All this has been fully proved in a former chapter ; is verified in 
the experience of every one who is awakened to a just view of his 
lost state ; and precisely accords with the language of God to his 
ancient people : " Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me 
is thy help." 9 The second chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians 
describes the condition of men by nature : " Children of wrath," 

1 G*l. iii. 10. 2 1 Cor. xv. 10. 3 2 Tim. i. 9. 

* Eph. i. 7. 5 Eph. ii. 7. 6 2 Tim. i. 9. 

7 Rom. iii. 27. 8 Eph. ii. 9. 9 Hosea xiii. 9. 



200 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

"dead in trespasses and sins," "without hope and without God;" 

and it attributes their deliverance from this wretched and hopeless 

condition, to the grace of God, who is rich in mercy : " But God, 

in his great love, wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in 

sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), 

and hath raised us up together ; and hath made us sit together 

in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. For by grace ye are saved 

through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." 

In the eagerness of his desire to impress the minds of the Ephesian 

Christians with a sense of their obligation to divine grace, before he 

reaches the conclusion of his argument, as if impatient to express 

the thought with which his own mind was so deeply impressed, he 

introduced it parenthetically, by anticipation, "By grace ye are 

saved." Afterwards, when his argument is completed, he repeats 

the declaration, and expands it to the utmost fulness of meaning, 

when he adds that faith itself is the gift of God. If the blessing 

bestowed is of faith, that it might be by grace, and if faith itself is 

the gift of God, it must be emphatically true that salvation is of 

grace. 

The blessings which are bestowed in salvation, demonstrate that 
it is entirely of grace. We shall proceed to a particular consid- 
eration of these, in the sections which follow : but we may here, 
in a general view, comprehend them under two gifts, namely, of 
Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. 

The gift of Christ, to die for us, and to become to us the author 
of eternal salvation, is entirely of grace : " God so loved the 
world that he gave his only begotten Son." 1 "God commendeth 
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died 
for us." 2 "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him 
up for us all ; how shall he not with him also freely give us all 
things?" 3 Without the death of Christ, our salvation was impos- 
sible : and we had no claim on God to draw forth from him the 
gift of his well-beloved. He was freely given, of God's great 
love, wherewith he loved us : and as he was freely given, so all the 
blessings which flow through him are freely given also. If any 
man feels that Christ was under obligation to die for him, or that 
God was bound to give his Son to make the needed sacrifice for 

1 John iii. 16. 2 Rom. v. 8. 3 Rom. viii. 32. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 261 

sin, he totally mistakes, on a point of vital importance to the sal 
vation of his soul. The doctrine that salvation is of grace, is not 
a useless speculation ; but it enters into the very heart of Christian 
experience ; and the faith which does not recognise it, does not 
receive Christ as he is presented in the Gospel. It is, therefore, 
a matter of unspeakable importance, that our view of this truth 
should be clear, and that it should be cordially embraced by every 
power of our minds. 

As the Son of God was freely given to effect our salvation by 
his death ; so the Holy Spirit is freely given, to apply the sal- 
vation which the Son has wrought out : " Tne love of God is shed 
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us/' 1 
We receive the Holy Spirit as a gift of the Father's love y who 
bestows it, as earthly parents give good things to their children. 2 
And this gift is not bestowed because of merit in the recipient. 
Paul asks, " Received ye the Spirit, by the works of the law, or 
by the hearing of faith?" 3 From this inquiry we learn that this 
gift also is of faith, that it might be by grace. 4 The Spirit is 
given in answer to the prayer of Christ : and being thus bestowed 
through Christ, it is one of the good things freely given together 
with Christ. We are encouraged to pray that God would give us 
his Holy Spirit : but our prayer cannot be acceptable, and will not 
be heard, if we ask the blessing as one which is justly due, and 
which we may demand as a right. When our humbled hearts plead 
that God would, in the exceeding riches of his grace, grant us his 
Holy Spirit, to renew and sanctify us, and fit us for his service, 
our petitions rise with acceptance to the ear of the Lord of hosts. 

An objection to the views which have been presented, may arise 
from the fact, that, in the last day, men will be judged according 
to their works. 5 But the good works of the saints are the fruit 
of grace bestowed ; and, although the sentence in the great day 
will be according to their works, the reward will nevertheless be 
of grace, and not of debt. Their works will be an evidence of 
their faith ; and Christ, the Judge, will refer to them, as proof of 
love to him. The kingdom which he will bestow, will be, not a 
reward for the merit of their works, but an inheritance prepared 

1 Rom. v. 5. 2 Luke xi. 13. 3 Gal. iii. 2. 

* Rom. iv. 16. 5 Rev. xx. 12. 



262 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

for them before the foundation of the world. 1 It will be as true 
on that day, as it is now, and it will be felt to be true by all the 
saints, that eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ. 2 

Section I. — PAKDON. 

All who repent of sin obtain forgiveness through Jesus 
Christ. 3 

Forgiveness implies deliverance from the penalty due to sin. 
The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness : 
and when men become sensible of the danger to which they are 
exposed, deliverance from the impending wrath becomes an object 
of intense solicitude. Hence arises an anxious desire to obtain 
forgiveness. To persons in this state of mind, the doctrine that 
there is forgiveness with God, is most welcome. 

All forgiveness is bestowed through Jesus Christ. It is he who 
delivers from the wrath to come. 4 In him " we have redemption 
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches 
of his grace." 5 He had power on earth to forgive sins f and he is 
now exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and 
remission of sins. 7 That we might be delivered from the penalty 
due to our sins, it was necessary that Christ should bear it for us. 
Hence it is true, that without the shedding of blood, there is no 
remission ; 8 and hence, in the teachings of Scripture, the forgive- 
ness of sins stands connected with redemption by the blood of 
Christ. With this agrees the language of the redeemed: "Unto 
him that loved us, and washed us from our sins, in his own blood." 9 

The blessing of forgiveness is bestowed on all who truly repent 
of their sins. This is taught in various passages of Scripture. 
" Repent ye, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. 19 
" If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our 
sins." 11 Repentance and remission of sins 12 were preached in the 
name of Christ, and are associated blessings, bestowed by " the 
exalted Prince and Saviour." 13 When Jesus said, " Except ye 

1 Matt. xxv. 34. 2 Kom. vi. 23. 

3 Isaiah lv. 7 ; Jer. iii. 12, 22 ; Luke xxiv. 46, 47 ; Acts ii. 38 ; hi. 19 ; v. 31. 

4 1 Thess. i. 10. 6 Eph. i. 7. 6 Matt. ix. 6. 
7 Acts v. 31. 8 Heb. ix. 22. 9 Rev. i. 5. 

10 Acts iii. 19. u 1 John i. 9. 12 Luke xxiv. 47. 

13 Acts v. 31. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 263 

repent, ye shall all likewise perish," 1 it was implied that, if they 
repented, they would escape. God, in the gospel, commands all men 
everywhere to repent, in view of the approaching judgment. 2 The 
hope of escape in that great day, is clearly held out to those who 
obey the command, and sincerely repent of their sins. 

Forgiveness is sometimes represented in the Scriptures, as 
received by faith in Christ : "To him give all the prophets witness, 
that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive 
remission of sin." 3 Repentance and faith are twin graces, 
proceeding from the same Holy Spirit, and wrought in the same 
heart ; and, although they may be contemplated separately, they 
exist together, and the promise of forgiveness belongs to either of 
them. 

In the New Testament, a connection appears, between the 
remission of sins and the ordinance of baptism. John preached 
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins ; 4 and Ananias 
commanded Saul, " Arise, and be baptised, and wash away thy 
sins, calling on the name of the Lord." 5 In the Old Testament, 
a similar connection appears, between remission and the sacrifices 
of that dispensation. "Almost all things were by the law purged 
with blood, and without the shedding of blood is no remission." 6 
Yet Paul has taught us that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take 
away sin ; 7 that these offerings were only figures of things to 
come ; and that the only effectual removal of sin is by the blood 
of Christ. Baptism under the gospel, is as truly a figure, as the 
sacrifices were under the law. In the ceremonies instituted by 
Moses, the death of Christ was prefigured by the death of the 
slaughtered victims ; and in the gospel ceremony, the burial and 
resurrection of Christ are figured forth in the ordinance of 
baptism: and in both cases, the remission connected with the 
ceremony is merely figurative. Our sins are washed away in 
baptism, in the same sense in which we eat the body and drink the 
blood of Christ, in the ordinance of the Lord's supper. 8 Baptism 
and the Lord's supper are duties to be performed under the gospel 

1 Luke xiii. 3. 2 Acts xvii. 30. 3 Acts x. 43. 

* Mark i. 4. 8 Acts xxii. 16. 6 Heb. ix. 22. 

* Heb. ix. 13. . 8 1 Cor. x. 16. 



264 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

dispensation ; as the various ceremonies instituted by Moses, were 
duties under the former dispensation ; but the figures ought not, in 
either case, to be confounded with the things which they represent. 
In a figure, baptism washes away sin : in reality, " The blood of 
Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin." We must be careful not to 
rely on the figure, instead of the reality which it represents. 

To escape the wrath to come, is the first desire of the awakened 
sinner ; and mercy, mercy, forgive, forgive, are the first words 
uttered in his earnest prayers. Forgiveness is bestowed on repent- 
ance, and repentance is the first duty enjoined in the gospel. It 
is fit that the first blessing of grace which the sinner anxiously 
seeks, should be connected with the first duty required of him. 
It shows, on the one hand, the holiness of God, who will not 
pardon sin, except on the condition of the sinner's return to 
obedience ; and, on the other, God's readiness to forgive, inasmuch 
as his wrath is averted at the first step of the sinner's return. He 
might have required that the sinner should undergo a long disci- 
pline of painful penance, and a long course of laborious service, 
as a condition of release from the indignation and wrath so long 
provoked. But God's readiness to forgive, is beautifully illustrated 
in the parable of the prodigal son, by the conduct of the father, 
who, while his son was yet a great way off, ran, and fell on his 
neck, and kissed him, 1 with free and full assurance of pardon and 
acceptance. Such is the love which God manifests to the return- 
ing sinner. It hastens to receive him on the first indication of 
true penitence. Nor is it a partial forgiveness which is then 
bestowed. The storm of divine wrath, which had been gathering 
over the sinner's head, during all his life of impenitence, is at 
once dispelled, and his sins, as a thick cloud, are at once blotted 
out. 2 To show the completeness of his pardon, his iniquities are 
represented as buried in the depths of the sea ; 3 not in some shallow 
place, where an ebbing tide might leave them uncovered ; but in 
the depths of the ocean, where, if they should be sought for, they 
could never be found. Such is God's forgiveness. Why are 
sinners so averse to seek it ? 

Although, on the first movement of a sinner in his return to 
God, the first blessing of divine grace is bestowed on him, so full, 

1 Luke xv. 20. 2 Isaiah xliv. 22. 3 Mic. rii 19. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 265 

so freely, so gloriously ; it does not follow, that lie may safely stop 
short in his progress. The doctrine of the saints' final perseve- 
rance, which we shall hereafter consider, is misunderstood and 
misapplied ; if men take encouragement from it, to relax in their 
efforts to advance in the way of holiness. The blessing of forgive- 
ness, and the exercise of repentance, are connected with each 
other, at the beginning of the divine life ; and their connection 
remains throughout its progress. We have occasion to pray for 
forgiveness, as often as we pray for our daily bread, 1 and the 
prayer cannot be presented with a well grounded hope that it will 
be heard and answered, unless it proceed from a penitent heart. 
Penitence is as necessary to pardon, in the saint who is just finish- 
ing his warfare, and taking his departure for the other world, as 
it was in the first moment of his drawing near to God. Christ was 
exalted "to give repentance and remission of sins;" and if these 
do not accompany each other, they do not come from Christ. He 
who believes that all his sins, past and future, were forgiven at his 
first conversion, in such a sense that he may dispense with all 
subsequent penitence, and rest satisfied with his first forgiveness, 
has need to learn again the first principles of the doctrine of 
Christ. 

Section II.— JUSTIFICATION. 

All who believe in Christ, are justified by his right- 
eousness IMPUTED TO THEM. 2 

Justification is the act of a judge acquitting one who is charged 
with crime. It is the opposite of condemnation. In Deut. xxv. 
1, the judges of Israel were commanded, in the discharge of their 
official duty, to justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. 

Justification is a higher blessing of grace, than pardon. The 
latter frees from the penalty due to sin, but it does not fully restore 
the lost favor of God. A pardoned criminal, and a just man who 
has committed no crime, stand on different ground. The distinction 
between pardon and justification may be illustrated by these words 



1 Matt. vi. 11, 12. 

2 Acts xiii. 39 ; Rom. iii. 21, 22, 25, 26 ; x. 4 ; Gal. ii. 16 ; iii. 22, 24 ; Phil, 
iii. 8-10. 



266 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

of Job, " God forbid that I should justify you." 1 If, in this 
passage, we should substitute the word pardon for justify, every one 
would perceive an important change in the meaning. This change 
shows the difference between pardon and justification. Such is the 
greatness of divine grace to the sinner who returns to God through 
Jesus Christ, that he is treated as if he had never sinned ; and 
this is imported in the declaration that he is justified. We are, 
however, not to conceive of these as separate blessings. It is not 
true that one sinner is justified, and another merely pardoned : 
but every penitent believer is both pardoned and justified. As 
repentance and faith are duties mutually implying each other, so 
pardon and justification are twin blessings of grace, bestowed 
together through Jesus Christ. All whom Jesus delivers from the 
wrath to come are freely justified from all things, and presented 
faultless before the presence of his glory. 

Justification is attributed, in the Scriptures, to the blood and 
the obedience of Christ : " Being justified by his blood, we shall be 
saved from wrath through him." 2 "By the obedience of one, 
shall many be made righteous." 3 Both his blood and his obedience 
were necessary to magnify the law, and make it honorable. His 
blood signifies the endurance of its penalty ; and his obedience, the 
fulfilment of its precepts. On his endurance of the penalty, our 
deliverance from wrath is based; and on his fulfilment of the 
precepts, our complete justification before God. Justification, 
however, could not be complete, without deliverance from the 
penalty; and it therefore required both the blood and the obedi- 
ence of Christ; or, in the language of Scripture, "his obedience 
* unto death." 

Justification is by faith. On this point, the Scriptures are 
explicit. " Being justified by faith, we have peace with God." 4 
By him all that believe are justified from all things. 5 Faith does 
not justify, because of its own merit. Other graces co-exist with 
it in the heart of the believer; as repentance, love, &c. And 
these have equal claim to merit ; and especially love, which is the 
fulfilling of the law, 6 but faith is selected as the justifying grace ; 
and Paul assigns the reason, " It is of faith, that it might be by 



1 Job xxvii. 5. 2 Rom. v. 9. s Rom. v. 19. 

* Rom. v. 1. 6 Acts xiii. 39. 6 Rom. xiii. 10. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 26? 

grace." 1 In the very exercise of faith, merit is renounced, an<? 
the sole reliance is placed on the merit of Christ. Hence faith is 
opposed to works : " To him that worketh not, but believeth on 
him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteous- 
ness." 2 In faith, the sinner as ungodly comes to God, who justifies 
the ungodly, 3 through Christ, who died for the ungodly. 4 He 
presents no plea, and entertains no hope, founded on personal 
merit, but relies wholly on the blood and obedience of Christ. 
Faith is an exercise of the believer's mind ; and, as such, it is as 
much a work as repentance or love, and it produces other works : 
for, " Faith worketh by love." 5 But it is not as a work, or as 
producing other works, that faith justifies ; but as renouncing all 
personal merit and self-reliance, and receiving salvation as a gift 
of free grace through Jesus Christ. 

In justification, righteousness is imputed, accounted, or reckoned. 
"David describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God 
imputeth righteousness. 6 Abraham believed God, and it was 
counted unto him for righteousness : 7 " For us, also, to whom it 
shall be imputed, if we believe." 8 

How God can justly account an ungodly man righteous, is a 
problem which it required infinite wisdom to solve. How it was 
solved Paul has informed us. Him hath " God set forth to be a 
propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness 
for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of 
God ; to declare I say at this time his righteousness, that he might 
be just, and thejustifier of him that believeth in Jesus."* The 
propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, and faith in that sacrifice, are the 
means which God employs for the solution of the difficult problem : 
and these solve it completely ; God himself, the perfectly just one, 
being judge. We may not be able fully to understand the solu- 
tion, and perceive all its fitness and beauty ; but we may learn 
much respecting it, from the light which the Scriptures throw on 
it ; and, where we fail to comprehend, we ought patiently to wait 
for the further light which eternity will disclose. 

When the Scriptures speak of justification by the obedience or 



1 Rom. iv. 16. 2 Rom. iv. 5. 3 Rom. iv. 5. 

* Rom. v. 6. « Gal. v. 6. 6 Rom. iv. 6. 

7 Rom. iv. 3. 8 Rom. iv. 24. 9 Rom. iii. 25, 26 



268 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

blood of Christ, faith is supposed ; otherwise, those passages which 
speak of justification by faith, would be without meaning. And 
in like manner, when they speak of justification by faith, the 
obedience and blood of Christ are supposed ; otherwise, it would 
be unmeaning to say, " Justified by his blood :" *^By his obedi- 
ence many are made righteous." What Christ did and suffered, 
and also our faith in Christ, are necessary to effect our justifica- 
tion ; and the part which each of these has in the process, is an 
interesting subject of inquiry. 

We have already seen that faith does not justify as a meritorious 
work. If it justified on the ground of merit, it would need to 
possess sufficient merit to satisfy all the demands of the law, both 
preceptive and penal ; and in that case the obedience and sufferings 
of Christ would be unnecessary. It is not jointly meritorious with 
the obedience and sufferings of Christ ; for they are in themselves 
perfect : and, without addition from the works of the sinner, mag- 
nify the law and make it honorable. Christ, and Christ alone, is 
the end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believeth. 1 
Faith disclaims all merit of its own, but receives Christ as the pro- 
pitiation that God has set forth, and, as the end of the law, fully 
satisfying all its claims. Faith distinguishes those to whom right- 
eousness is imputed : "it is unto all, and upon all them that be- 
lieve ;" 2 but it is not, in itself, either in whole or in part, the meri- 
torious cause of justification. 

But merit is ascribed, in the word of God, to the obedience and 
sufferings of Christ. His blood is represented as a price paid, and 
a price of such value, that our deliverence from under the law may, 
on the ground of it, be justly claimed : " Ye were not redeemed 
with corruptible things, as silver and gold ; but with the precious 
blood of Christ." 3 "He was made under the law, to redeem them 
that were under the law." 4 

" Ye are not your own : ye are bought with a price." 5 As a com- 
modity may be claimed, when its full value has been paid, and the 
purchase completed ; so our deliverance from the condemnation of 
the law, and our justification before God, may be claimed on the 
merits of Christ's obedience and sufferings. Avenging justice is 

1 Horn. x. 4. 2 Rom. iii. 22. 3 1 Pet. i. 18, i9. 

* Gal. iv. 5. 6 1 Cor. vi. 19, 29. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 269 

satisfied: " He is the propitiation for our sins." 1 "The Lord is 
well pleased for his righteousness' sake." 2 He gave himself an 
offering and a sacrifice to God of sweet smelling savor." 3 

When the Scriptures speak of Christ's blood as the ground of 
our justification, his obedience is supposed : and, on the other hand, 
when his obedience is mentioned, his sufferings are supposed. His 
obedience to the precepts of the law would not have sufficed, if he 
had not also endured its penalty : and if, while enduring his suffer- 
ings, he had not loved God with all his heart, his sacrifice would 
have been polluted. A lamb without spot was needed; and perfect 
obedience was therefore necessary to render his offering acceptable. 
His active and passive obedience are both necessary to make a 
complete salvation ; and when only one i3 mentioned in the Scrip- 
tures, the other is supposed. 

In being made under the law, Christ became our substitute ; and 
his obedience and sufferings are placed to our account, as if we 
had personally obeyed and suffered, to the full satisfaction of the 
law. We are thus justified by the righteousness of Christ imputed 
to us : " He who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might 
be made the righteousness of God in him." 4 Our sins were im- 
puted to Christ when he died for them ; and his righteousness is 
imputed to us when we receive eternal life through him. He was 
treated as if he had personally committed the sins which were laid 
on him : and all who believe in him are treated as if they had per- 
sonally rendered that satisfaction to the law which was rendered 
by his obedience and sufferings. 

Nothing can be accounted the meritorious cause of justification, 
but the obedience and sufferings of Christ : yet faith is indispen- 
sable : " He that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; and the 
wrath of God abideth on him." 5 By him all that believe are jus- 
tified. 6 Faith, then, is the turning point, by which a sinner's con- 
dition is determined. In God's method of grace, all the benefits 
of Christ's satisfaction to the law are made over to the sinner, as 
soon as he believes : and faith, therefore, serves to him instead of 
a perfect personal obedience to the law. On his believing in 
Christ, he is treated as if he had personally rendered a perfect 

1 1 John ii. 2. 2 Isaiah xlii. 21. 3 Eph. v. 2. 

4 2 Cor. v. 21. 6 John iii. 36. 6 Acts xiii. 39. 



270 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

obedience to the law: and this is the import of those Scriptures 
which say that faith is imputed to him for righteousness. It is 
not so imputed, because of any merit which it possesses ; but 
because it is that which the Gospel recognises in the sinner as 
entitling him to the full satisfaction that Christ has rendered. When 
faith is said to be imputed for righteousness, the obedience and 
sufferings of Christ, on which faith lays hold, are viewed as 
connected with it, and constituting the meritorious ground of its 
acceptance. 

That the sin or righteousness of one should be imputed to 
another, has been thought by some to be inconsistent with the 
principles of justice, the province of which is, to give to every 
man his due. From some cause, the notion of imputation has 
prevailed in all ages, in the sacrifices which have been offered, 
both by divine authority and by heathen worshippers. This notion 
has the full authority of God's word, and evidently lies at the 
foundation of the salvation which infinite wisdom and goodness 
have provided for guilty men. It would, therefore, be extreme 
folly in us to reject this salvation because of an objection which 
may arise to our erring reason, in determining the abstract prin- 
ciples of justice. There is no higher rule of justice than God 
himself; and what the Judge of all does, must be right. 

In explaining the imputation of Adam's sin, we showed that 
there is a threefold union between Adam and his posterity, render- 
ing the imputation of his sin to them an act of justice. There is, 
in like manner, a threefold union between Christ and his people, 
rendering the imputation of their sin to him, and of his righteous- 
ness to them, consistent with justice. 

1. There is a union of consent. Christ consented to the right- 
eousness of the law, in its condemnation of his people, and to the 
necessity of satisfaction : and they do the same. He consented 
to become a substitute for them, and render the required satisfac- 
tion in their behalf: and they joyfully accept the favor. While 
in impenitence and unbelief, they do not approve the law, or its 
sentence, and do not acknowledge the obligation to make satisfac- 
tion. When they become sensible of this obligation, the first 
effort is to make satisfaction in their own persons. In this state 
of mind their consent with Christ is only partial ; and the Gospel 
does not pronounce them justified. But when they become con* 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 271 

vinced of their utter inability to render satisfaction in their own 
persons, they give themselves up to Christ, and not only consent, 
but pray to be found in him, not having their own righteousness, 
but the righteousness which is of God by faith. 

How the union of Christ and his people rendered it just in God 
to inflict the penalty of their sins on him, and to justify them, we 
cannot claim fully to understand. God knows well what his moral 
government requires; and as he has approved the arrangement, 
we may be sure it must be right. We may hope to obtain further 
knowledge of this glorious mystery when the counsels of infinite 
wisdom are unfolded to our view in the future world. 

But even here we may see, in part, a fitness in the procedure. 
Without the consent of Christ, we cannot suppose that justice 
would have laid our iniquities on him : and, without the consent 
to be saved by him, which faith yields, we cannot understand how 
justice would have been honored in our being justified. As the 
consent of Adam's descendants to the deed of their father, in 
rebelling against the law of his Sovereign, justifies the imputa- 
tion of his sin to them ; so the consent of Christ and his people to 
the divine scheme of grace, justifies what is done to them both 
in the execution of the scheme. 

2. There is a spiritual union. As Adam was the natural head 
of his posterity, so Christ is the spiritual head of his people. 
Adam's descendants are born from him according to the flesh, and 
possess the nature which existed in him as its beginning or foun- 
tain. Christ's people are born of the Spirit, and possess the spirit 
which was in Christ without measure ; so that, " If any man have 
not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his." 1 This union is like 
that of the head and members of the human body: and by one 
spirit believers are all baptised into this one body." 2 It is like 
the union of the vine and its branches ; through all which the 
same vitalizing and fructifying sap circulates. This union secures 
the perfect consent, which has already been noticed, between Christ 
and his people ; and further illustrates the fitness of that arrange- 
ment by which they are regarded as one in the administration of 
God's moral government. 

3. There is a federal union. As Adam was the federal head 

1 Rom. viii. 9. 2 1 Cor. xii. 13. 



272 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

and representative of his descendants ; so Christ stood, in the cove- 
nant of grace, as the federal head and representative of all whom 
the Father gave to him. For their sakes he undertook the work 
of mediation ; and for their sakes he did and suffered all that was 
necessary to the full execution of the work. Justice, and every 
other attribute of the divine nature, concurred in the arrangement, 
by which he was to see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied ; 
and by the knowledge of him to justify many. 1 And now, justice, 
and every other attribute of the divine nature, fully sanction the 
arrangement, by which his righteousness is imputed to all his elect 
people, on their believing in him. " Who shall lay anything to 
the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth. Who is he 
that condemneth? It is Christ that died." 2 

The imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity, is an act of 
justice ; the imputation of Christ's righteousness to believers, is an 
act of grace. The former is on the proper level of justice ; but the 
latter rises above it. Justice has nothing to say against it, but, on 
the contrary, is fully satisfied and abundantly honored by it ; yet the 
plan did not originate in the justice, but in the love, of God, which 
provided the needed sacrifice. This distinction ought never to be 
forgotten. If our condemnation, in our natural state, is not just, 
our deliverance from it is of debt, and not of grace. When we 
feel, in every power of our minds, that we are justly condemned 
before God, and that his wrath is our righteous due ; we can then 
receive Christ and salvation by him, as the gift of God, the free 
gift, the unspeakable gift, of his grace. 

The Apostle James says : "A man is justified by works, and not 
by faith only." 3 In this he appears, at first view, to contradict 
the words of Paul: "A man is justified by faith, without deeds of 
the law." 4 James has assigned a reason, which furnishes a clue 
that leads to a perfect reconciliation of this apparent contradiction : 
"For," says he, "faith without works is dead." 5 Faith alone, is 
dead faith; and dead faith, according to his teaching, does not 
justify ; and this doctrine, Paul does not contradict. The justifying 
faith of Paul, is living, working faith. He says expressly: " Faith 
works by love." 6 James does not exclude faith from justification; 

1 Isaiah liii. 11. 2 Rom. viii. 33, 34. 3 James ii. 24. 

* Kom. iii. 28. 5 James ii. 17. 6 Gal. v. 6. 



BLESSINGS OF GKACE. 273 

but, on the contrary, introduces works, not as excluding faith, but 
as making it perfect: " By works was faith made perfect." 1 As 
thus perfected, faith justifies, according to his teaching : and this 
is precisely what Paul teaches. The works which Paul excludes 
are not works of faith, but works of law — not works, evidencing 
the genuineness and vitality of faith ; but works, claiming to be, in 
whole, or in part, the meritorious cause of justification. Such 
works are excluded, because they would imply an imperfection in 
Christ's work, and give the sinner a ground of glorying. It is 
manifest that James insists on works, merely as evidences of faith : 
" Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my 
faith by my works." 2 Even words, as well as works, are necessary, 
to give evidence of faith : " With the heart, man believeth unto 
righteousness ; and with the mouth, confession is made unto 
salvation." 3 So far as words prove the presence or absence of 
faith, it is true, that, " By thy words thou shalt be justified ; and 
by thy words thou shalt be condemned." 4 But words without 
works, avail nothing; for Christ teaches that, "Not every one that 
saith Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven : but he 
that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven." 5 And words 
and works together, avail nothing, without faith ; for, whatever a 
man may say or do, if he believe not, he " shall be damned." 

A difference of opinion has existed as to the proper date of 
justification. Some have regarded the day of judgment as its 
proper date. It is an act of God, as Judge ; and, in the judgment 
of the great day, the Judge will publicly pronounce, on every 
individual, the sentence which will determine his condition through 
eternity. Then God's judgments will be fully revealed ; but a 
partial revelation of them is made in the present life: "Even now, 
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, 
and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteous- 
ness." 6 It is true, " He that believeth not, shall be damned ;" 7 but 
it is also true, "He that believeth not, is condemned already."* 
In like manner, it is true that Christ will publicly own his people 
in the great day, and pronounce the final sentence in their favor ; 

1 James ii. 22. 2 James ii. 18. 3 Eom. x. 10 

* Matt. xii. 37. 5 Matt. vii. 21. 6 Eom. i. 18. 

7 Mark xvi. 16. 8 John iii. 18. 

18 



274 DOOTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

but it is also true, that they are justified in the present life. 
Hence Paul says: "Ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 1 "All that believe are justified from all things." 2 The 
same rule by which the eternal state of men will be determined in 
the great day, is now made known on the authority of him who 
will sit on the throne of judgment then, and who is now the Judge 
of all the earth. By this revelation, men are already condemned 
or justified, according to their character. That character is often 
secret here. In the great day, God will judge the secrets of all 
hearts; but he will not establish a new rule of judgment: so far as 
that rule has been correctly applied here, its decision will be 
confirmed in the last day by the final sentence. 

Some have dated justification in eternity past, regarding it as 
grace given in Christ Jesus before the world began. Justification 
is not a secret purpose in the bosom of God, but a revelation from 
him, and therefore it cannot be eternal. It implies, not only the 
accounting of the sinner righteous, but the declaring of him right- 
eous ; otherwise, it would not be the opposite of condemnation ; and 
neither justification nor condemnation can be from eternity. God's 
purpose to justify is eternal, and so is his purpose to glorify ; but 
it is as improper to say that believers are justified from eternity, 
as to say that they are glorified from eternity. It is clearly the 
doctrine of Scripture, that, on believing in Christ, men pass from a 
state of condemnation into a state of justification. 

Section III. — ADO PT 10 N. 

God adopts, as sons, all who believe in Jesus Christ. 3 
In adoption, as practised among men, an individual receives the 
son of another into his family, and confers on him the same 
privileges and advantages, as if he were his own son. In this 
sense, God adopts all who believe in Jesus Christ : " We are all the 
children of God by faith in Jesus Christ." 4 " Behold what manner 
of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called 
the sons of God." 5 This blessing of grace rises higher than justifi- 

1 1 Cor. vi. 11. 2 Acts xiii. 39. 

3 John i. 12 ; Rom. viii. 17 ; Gal. iii.26; 1 John iii. 1, 2. 

4 Gal. iii. 26. 5 1 John iii. ] 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 275 

cation. Though a judge may fully acquit one who is arraigned 
before him on a charge of crime, he does not confer, on the man 
so acquitted, any of the privileges or advantages which belong to a 
son. But the believer in Jesus is permitted to regard God, not 
only as a justifying Judge, but as a reconciled and affectionate 
Father. The problem, how he can be put among the children, 1 has 
been solved. Though once afar off, he has been brought nigh by 
the blood of Christ, and made of the household of God. 2 

Among the privileges and advantages which adoption secures, 
we may enumerate the following : 

1. The love of God, as a kind Father, is secured to believers. 
The Scriptures frequently exhibit the love of God to his people, 
under the figure of a Father's love to his children : "As a Father 
pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." 3 
" If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 
how much more shall your heavenly Father give good things to 
them that ask him." 4 "Your Father knoweth that ye have need 
of these things." 5 Corresponding with this encouraging and 
delightful exhibition of God's love, is the confidence with which 
the believer in Christ is inspired to approach his heavenly Father : 
" Because ye are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son 
into your hearts, crying Abba, Father." 6 Hence Christ habitually 
spoke to his disciples of God as their Father, and, before he left 
them, said, in language full of endearment and encouragement: 
"I ascend to my Father and your Father;" 7 and hence he taught 
them to say, in their daily prayers : " Our Father, who art in 
heaven." 8 

2. The discipline of God, as a kind and wise Father, is secured 
to all who believe in Jesus: "Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth 
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." 9 "We have had 
fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. 
Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of Spirits 
and live?" 10 "For they verily for a few days chastened us after 
their own pleasure ; but he for our profit, that we might be 

1 Jer. iii. 19. 2 Eph. ii. 13, 19. 3 Ps. ciii. 13. 

* Matt. vii. 11. 5 . Matt. vi. 32. 6 Rom. viii. 15. 

John xx. 17. 8 Matt. vi. 9. 9 Heb. xii. 6. 
10 Heb. xii. 9. 



276 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

partakers of his holiness." 1 Inestimably rich is this blessing of 
divine discipline. Let the wealthy and noble of the earth rejoice 
in the advantages which give them distinction among men, and 
supply them with the means of carnal enjoyment; but let the 
afflicted believer in Jesus, rejoice in the lot which God has assigned 
him, because it has been chosen for him by a Father who knows 
what is best for him, and who loves him so tenderly as to with- 
hold from him no good thing. Having all good in heaven and 
earth at his disposal, he has selected that portion for each of his 
children on earth, which will best promote their highest interest. 

3. Believers in Christ are made heirs of God: "If children, then 
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.'-' 2 God, the 
creator of all things, is the proprietor of all things, and his adopted 
children are made heirs of this vast estate. "He that overcometh, 
shall inherit all things." 3 "All things are yours, and Christ is 
appointed heir of all things; and believers are tfo-heirs with him." 4 

The inheritance of God's children, is frequently represented as a 
kingdom : " Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure 
to give you the kingdom." 5 " Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom." 6 

The adoption of believers does not take full effect in the present 
life : " We are waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the 
body ;" " waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God." 7 Flesh 
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom; and, therefore, this vile 
body must be changed, and fashioned like the glorious body of 
Christ, before we can receive the glory and joy which God has 
prepared for us. Yet the title to the inheritance is made sure, 
since we are co-heirs with Christ ; and the promise and oath of 
God, two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, 8 
give to the heirs of promise, the strongest possible assurance, that 
they shall receive the inheritance : " Beloved, now are we the sons 
of God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know, 
that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see 
him as he is." 9 Though now in exile, and pilgrims and strangers 
in the earth, perhaps despised and forsaken, we are the. children 

1 Heb. xii. 10. 2 Rom. viii. 17. 3 Rev. xxi .7. 

4 1 Cor. iii. 22. 5 Luke xii. 32. 6 Matt, xxv 34. 

7 Rom. viii. 19. 8 Heb. vi. 18. 9 Uoha iii 2. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 277 

of God, and heirs of an inheritance which is incorruptible, unde- 
filed, and fadeth not away. Even now, whatever may be our 
poverty, affliction, or reproach, we are the objects of our Father'? 
care, and he gives us, as an earnest of the future inheritance, so 
much of it in present enjoyment, as he sees to be best for us. All 
things within the boundless dominion of Jehovah, work together 
for good, to them that love God. 1 



Section IV.— REGENERATION. 

In all who are finally saved, the Holy Spirit produces 
a great moral change, by which they become inclined to 
holiness. 2 

In our natural state we are totally depraved. No inclination to 
holiness exists in the carnal heart ; and no holy act can be performed, 
or service to God rendered, until the heart is changed. This change, 
it is the office of the Holy Spirit to effect. Pardon, justification, 
and adoption, are changes in a man's condition ; but if no other 
change were wrought, the man would remain a slave to sin, and 
unfit for the service and enjoyment of God. Grace, therefore, 
does not stop with a mere change of condition, but it effects also 
that change in the character, without which the individual could 
not participate in the holy enjoyments of heaven, or be fitted for 
the society of the blessed. 

Various forms of expression are employed in the Scriptures, to 
denote the change of heart; and they signify it with various 
shades of. meaning. It is taking away the heart of stone, and 
giving a heart of flesh ; 3 giving a new heart ; 4 putting the law in 
the heart ; 5 quickening or making alive ; 6 a resurrection from the 
dead; an illumination; 7 a conversion, or turning back to God. 8 
So great is the change produced, that the subject of it is called a 
new creature, 9 as if proceeding, like Adam, directly from the 

1 Rom. viii. 28. 

2 John iii. 5, 6 ; Ezek. xi. 19 ; xxxvi. 26, 27 ; xxxvii. 14; Tit. iii. 5 ; James 
i. 18 ; 2 Cor. v. 17 ; 1 John iv. 8. 

3 Ezek. xxxvi. 26. * Ezek. xviii. 31. 5 Heb. viii. 10. 
6 John vi. 63 ; Eph. ii. 1 ; . Rom. vi. 11, 13. 7 Heb. x. 32. 

8 Ps. Ii. 13 ; Matt, xviii. 3 ; Ps. xxv. 16 ; Isaiah lix. 20. 

9 2 Cor. v. 17 ; Gal. vi. 15. 



278 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

creating hand of God ; and lie is said to be renewed, 1 as being 
restored to the image of God, in which man was originally formed. 
With reference to the mode in which the descendants of Adam 
come into the world, the change is denominated regeneration f and 
the subjects of it are said to be born again. 3 

The change is moral. The body is unchanged ; and the identity 
of the mind is not destroyed. The individual is conscious of 
being the same person that he was before ; but a new direction is 
given to the active powers of the mind, and new affections are 
brought into exercise. The love of God is shed abroad in the 
heart by the Holy Ghost. 4 No love to God had previously existed 
there ; for the carnal heart is enmity against God. Love is the 
fulfilling of the law, the principle of all holy obedience ; and when 
love is produced in the heart, the law of God is written there. As 
a new principle of action, inciting to a new mode of life, it renders 
the man a new creature. The production of love in the heart by 
the Holy Spirit, is the regeneration, or the new birth ; for " he 
that loveth, is born of God. 5 

The mode in which the Holy Spirit effects this change, is beyond 
our investigation. All God's ways are unsearchable ; and we 
might as well attempt to explain how he created the world, as how 
he new-creates the soul. With reference to this subject, the 
Saviour said, " The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest 
the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, or whither 
it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." 6 

We know, from the Holy Scriptures, that God employs his truth 
in the regeneration of the soul. " Of his own will begat he us 
with the word of truth." 7 Love to God necessarily implies know- 
ledge of God, and this knowledge it is the province of truth to 
impart. But knowledge is not always connected with love. The 
devils know, but do not love ; and wicked men delight not to retain 
the knowledge of God, 8 because their knowledge of him is not 
connected with love. The mere presentation of the truth to the 
mind, is not all that is needed, in producing love to God in the 

1 Col. iii. 10 ; Rom. xii. 2 ; Tit. iii. 5. 2 Tit. iii. 5. 

3 John iii. 3, 7 ; 1 Pet. i. 23. 4 Rom. v. 5. 

5 1 John iv. 7. 6 John iii. 8. 7 James i, 18. 

8 Rom. i. 28. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 279 

heart. What accompanying influence the Holy Spirit uses, to 
render the word effectual, we cannot explain : but Paul refers to 
it, when he says, " Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but 
also in power, and in the Holy Ghost." 1 — " but in the demonstra- 
tion of the Spirit, and with power." 2 

The term regeneration is sometimes used in a comprehensive 
sense, as including the whole formation of the Christian character. 
At other times it is used for the first production of divine love in 
the heart. In the latter sense, the work is instantaneous. There 
is a moment known only to God, when the first holy affection exists 
in the soul. Truth may enter gradually, and may excite strong 
affections in the mind, and may for a time increase the hatred of 
God which naturally reigns in the heart. So Paul says, " Sin, 
taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of 
concupiscence." 3 But, in his own time and manner, God, the Holy 
Spirit, makes the word effectual in producing a new affection 
in the soul : and, when the first movement of love to God exists, 
the first throb of spiritual life commences. 

Faith is necessary to the Christian character ; and must there- 
fore precede regeneration, when this is understood in its widest 
sense. Even in the restricted sense, in which it denotes the 
beginning of the spiritual life, faith, in the sense in which James 4 
uses the term, may precede. But a faith which exists before the 
beginning of spiritual life, cannot be a living faith. Yet some 
have maintained that faith produces love. This opinion is of 
sufficient importance to demand a careful consideration. 

The power of faith over the actions, the conscience, and the 
affections of the heart, every one must admit. Confidence placed 
in a treacherous man, has often led to a course of action ruinous 
in its effects on the condition and character. A belief in false 
principles of morality blinds the conscience, and causes it to 
approve the wrong, and condemn the right. "We may love or hate 
an individual, under a mistaken view of his character ; and our 
affection towards him may be completely changed, by a better 
acquaintance with him. Now, it may be asked, does not dislike 

1 1 Thess. i. 5. 2 1 Cor. ii. 4. 

8 Roin. vii. 8. * * James ii. 17. 



280 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

of God proceed from a wrong view of his character, and will not 
a true knowledge of him infallibly produce love? 

That hatred of God, and a wrong view of his character, accom- 
pany each other, no one can deny ; but which of these produces 
the other, ought not to be assumed without investigation. We 
readily judge well concerning those whom we love, and ill concern- 
ing those whom we dislike. Men's interests pervert their judg- 
ments. In a deliberative assembly, parties are formed, according 
to the interests of individuals ; and men take sides according to 
the circumstances which influence the heart. In these cases, the 
affections control the faith. The affections and the faith mutually 
influence each other, and if either be wrong, the other cannot be 
perfectly right. The enmity to God which rules in the hearts of 
unregenerate men, renders their view of his character incorrect. 
A perfectly correct view cannot. co-exist with enmity to him : and 
yet it does not follow that love to him may be produced, by giving 
right views of his character* 

Some have maintained the opinion that a revelation of God's 
love to us is sufficient to produce love to him. That it ought to do 
so, cannot be denied ; and in a heart under no evil bias, it would 
produce this effect. We may rather say, that a heart in which no 
evil bias exists, will love God, on receiving a revelation of his 
general character, without waiting for evidence of special favor. 
If our love to God proceeds from a belief that he loves us in 
particular, it is merely a modification of self-love. Such love has 
no moral excellence in it ; for " sinners love those that love them." 1 
Some have supposed, that the faith of devils differs from the faith 
of Christians in the circumstance, that it sees in God no manifesta- 
tion of love towards them, and therefore can produce no love in 
their hearts towards God. But this opinion regards the faith which 
distinguishes the people of God, and purifies their hearts, as 
possessing no moral excellence in its nature. The circumstances 
in which it is exercised, do not make its nature better. If it may 
consist with perfect hatred to God, it cannot have moral excellence 
in itself, or tend to produce moral purity. 

An inspired writer has said, " We love him, because he first 
loved us:" 2 but these words do not teach, that our love to God 

JLukevi. 32. 2 Uohn iv. 19. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 281 

originates in the conviction that we are the favorites of his love. 
The love of God towards us, operates both as an efficient, and as 
a motive. 1. As an efficient cause. " For his great love where 
with he loved us, 1 when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us 
together with Christ." Here is an operation entirely distinct from 
that of mere motive. The dead body of Christ in the grave, was 
quickened by the Spirit ; and a like power quickens the dead soul. 
" We believe according to the working of his mighty power, which 
he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead." 2 Here 
faith itself is ascribed to this divine operation. All this operation 
proceeds from God's great love wherewith he hath loved us. It is 
plain, therefore, that this love operates as an efficient cause, before it 
operates as a motive to holiness. It cannot operate as a motive 
without faith ; and faith is produced by its efficient power. After 
this efficiency has quickened the dead soul, the love of God towards 
us then operates. 2. As a motive. The goodness of God leads to 
repentance, and every attribute and act of God has a tendency to 
call forth the love of the heart, when in the right state. Nothing so 
effectually melts the heart, as a view of God's great love towards 
us, while we were yet sinners : and of Christ's love in giving him- 
self for us : but many a heart has felt this melting influence, 
without having in view the personal benefit to be received from this 
love. Our love to God does not produce a disregard to our own 
happiness, but it rises above the consideration of it. It is, there- 
fore, not a modification of self-love. 

This divine operation, which is additional to the motive power of 
truth, proceeds from what has been called the direct influence of 
the Spirit. Truth, as contained in the Holy Scriptures, is a 
revelation from the Holy Spirit ; and as men's words, whether 
spoken or written, have an influence on the minds of other men, 
so the words of the Holy Spirit have an influence on the minds of 
all who read the Bible, or hear the gospel preached. In this 
indirect way, the Holy Spirit operates on men's minds, as the 
author of a book operates on all who read his work. But this 
indirect influence is by means of truth as a motive power ; and no 
mere motive, operating on the sinner's heart, can induce .him to 
love God for his own sake. While self-love rules in the mind, all 

1 Eph. ii. 4, 5. 2 Eph. i. 19. 20 



282 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

motives derive their power from their relation to the ruling princi- 
ple ; and cannot, therefore, establish a higher principle of action. 
This change, bj which true love to God is produced, results from 
the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, accompanying his word, and 
making it effectual. It was this direct influence which rendered 
the word so effectual on the day of Pentecost, 1 which opened 
Lydia's heart, 2 so that she attended to the things that were spoken 
by Paul ; — which gave the increase when Paul planted, and Apollos 
watered, 3 — and which has ever brought the word to the heart, in 
demonstration of the Spirit, and with power. 4 

The doctrine of the Holy Spirit's direct influence, is a funda- 
mental truth of the gospel dispensation. That Jesus Christ has 
come in the flesh, and completed the great work for which he 
assumed our nature, is a truth that lies at the foundation of 
Christianity. The gospel reveals to us the Spirit as well as the 
Son. When about to leave the world, Jesus promised another 
Comforter, who should dwell with his disciples for ever. The 
Holy Spirit, as God, had always been in the world : but he was 
now to be present by a peculiar manifestation and operation. 
This manifestation and operation attended the ministry of the 
Word on the day of Pentecost, and the gospel has always been 
the sword of the Spirit, 5 the instrument with which he operates in 
the fulfilment of his office for which he has come into the world, in 
answer to the prayer of Christ. 

The experience of mankind, before the coming of Christ, pre- 
pared the way for the introduction of his religion. The wise men 
of the world had sought to know God, but their laborious research 
had been ineffectual. Some other means of knowledge was, by 
their failure, proved to be necessary : " After that in the wisdom 
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the 
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." 6 While an 
experiment was made in the heathen world, demonstrating the 
necessity of revelation, another was in progress among the people 
of Israel, under the Mosaic dispensation, demonstrating the inef- 
ficiency of revelation, unless accompanied by direct influence of 
the Holy Spirit. The Israelites had this great advantage over the 

1 Acts ii. 2 Acts xvi. 3 1 Cor. iii. 

* 1 Cor. ii. 4. 5 Eph. vi. 17. 6 1 Cor. i. 21. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 283 

heathen world, that to them were committed the oracles of God. 1 
The Scriptures, given by inspiration from God, were in their pos- 
session : and God spoke to them at sundry times and in divers 
manners, by prophets whom he raised up among them, and inspired 
to declare his will. That these prophets, with their burdens of 
divine messages, might arrive in due time, God represents himself 
as rising up early and sending them. 2 So abundant were the 
means of religious knowledge granted them, that God said, "What 
could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done 
in it?" 3 Yet, with all this advantage, they turned away from the 
God of Israel, and provoked him to anger. Another influence 
was needed, to produce love and obedience to God. Hence it was 
said, by the prophet Jeremiah, " Behold, the days come, saith the 
Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised 
unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah."* This new 
covenant is explained in the Epistle to the Hebrews, 5 to be the 
spiritual dispensation of the gospel. Its grand peculiarity is, that 
the law of God is written in the heart. The Israelites had the 
revelation from God written on stone and parchment, but it was 
not in their hearts ; and a new divine influence was needed to put 
it there. This new divine influence was promised by the prophet, 
and the promise has been fulfilled in the direct influence of the 
Holy Spirit, the gift of which characterizes the gospel dispensation 
as the ministration of the Spirit. 6 The saints of God, under the 
former dispensation, received this influence of the Holy Spirit, 
and to them also was the gospel preached. 7 The privileges and 
blessings of the future dispensation, were, by anticipation, bestowed 
on them ; and the Christ to come was made their Saviour, as if he 
had already appeared and fulfilled his work. But the abundant 
influence of the Holy Spirit was reserved for the times following 
the ascension of Christ, and from that day he dwells in the Church, 
and makes the bodies of believers his temple. This peculiar pre- 
sence implies the peculiar influence by which the truth is put into 
tha heart ; that is, by which men are made to love the truth. The 
whole Mosaic dispensation was an experiment, demonstrating the 

1 Rom. iii. 2. 2 Jer. xxxii. 33. s Isaiah v. 4. 

* Jer. xxxiii. 14. • 5 Heb. viii. 6 2 Cor. iii. 8. 

7 Heb. iv. 2: Gal. iii. 8. 



284 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

necessity of this peculiar influence. That covenant did not pro- 
mise this blessing, and God found fault with it, because it did not 
secure the obedience of his people. The experiment was made, in 
his wisdom, not for his information, but for our benefit ; and, by 
the failure of that covenant, we are enabled better to estimate the 
value of the blessing that distinguishes the covenant founded on 
better promises. 

That philosophy which shuts God out of his creation, and sub- 
stitutes laws of nature for his ever-present influence and operation, 
stands ready to deny the doctrine of the Holy Spirit's direct influ- 
ence. It admits not the possibility of any influence, but that which 
the means employed naturally tend to produce. But means have no 
natural efficiency apart from the will of God. By the will of God, 
the truth has its regenerating and sanctifying power ; for he works 
in us to will and to do, according to his pleasure. 1 It belongs to 
the Holy Spirit, in the economy of grace, to produce divine life in 
the soul, as he brooded over the face of the waters, at creation, 
reducing the chaotic mass to order, and filling it with life. He is 
pleased to work with means ; and he employs the truth as his 
instrument of operation. This instrument he wields at his plea- 
sure, and he renders it effectual by his divine power : " My word 
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I 
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." 2 By 
the ordinary providence of God, the Bible operates in the world, 
and influences the minds of men : but this providence equally 
existed in the former dispensation, in which the oracles of God 
were possessed by the Israelites, but held by them in unrighteous- 
ness. An influence above the ordinary providence of God is 
needed, to the regeneration of the soul. The coming of Christ 
into the world, and the coming and abiding of the Holy Spirit, 
belong to a dispensation which is above the ordinary providence 
of God. Into this new economy we are ushered, when we are 
translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Here we recog- 
nise both the Son and the Spirit, as specially given of God. It is 
contrary to the faith of the gospel to regard Christ and his redeem- 
ing work, as things of God's ordinary providence ; and it is equally 

1 Phil. ii. 13. 2 Isaiah Iv. 11. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 285 

contrary to faith to consider the Spirit and his work in the heart 
as merely natural influence of the truth on the heart. 

Section V.— S ANC T I FIC ATION. 

The Holy Spirit continues to sanctify those whom he has 
regenerated, and finally prepares them fully for the holy 
service and enjoyment of heaven. 1 

Regeneration is the beginning of sanctification, but the work is 
not completed at the outset. A new affection is produced in the 
heart, but it does not govern without opposition. The love of the 
world, the love of self, and all the carnal appetites and passions, 
have reigned in the heart ; and the power of habit gives them a 
controlling influence, which is not readily yielded. Hence arises 
the warfare of which every regenerate man is conscious : the flesh 
lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. 2 In 
this struggle, the carnal propensities often threaten to prevail, and 
they would prevail, if God did not give a supply of the Spirit of 
Jesus Christ. " Without me," said Jesus, "ye can do nothing." 3 
If severed from the living vine, the branches are sapless, fruitless, 
dead. But "he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit ;" 4 and the 
Spirit of life from Christ, the head, flows through all the members 
of his body, and gives and preserves their vitality. This Spirit in 
them lusteth against the flesh, and enables them to carry on their 
warfare, and gives them final victory : " He that hath begun a 
good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." 5 

As in the beginning, so in the progress of the work, the Holy 
Spirit operates by direct and by indirect influence. The indirect 
influence is by means of the truth. With reference to this, the 
Saviour prayed :." Sanctify them through thy truth;" 6 and, with 
reference to it, the Scriptures connect " belief of the truth," with 
"sanctification of the Spirit;" 7 and speak of the heart being purified 
by faith. 8 The direct influence fixes the affections on the truth ; 
or, in the language of Scripture, "writes the law in the heart." 9 

1 2 Thess. ii. 13 ; 1 Pet. i. 2 ; 1 Cor. vi. 11 ; 2 Cor. iii. 18 ; Mai. iii. 3 ; Eph. 
r. 26 ; Tit. ii. 14 ; Prov. iv. 18 ; Phil. i. 6 ; 1 John iii. 2. 

2 Gal. v. 17. 3 John xv. 5. 4 1 Cor. vi. 17. 

5 Phil. i. 6. • 6 John xvii. 17. 7 2 Thess. ii. 13. 

8 Acts xv. 9. 9 Heb. x. 16. 



283 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

The mode in which this direct influence is exerted, we cannot 
explain ; but the result is, that the truth produces its proper effect, 
which otherwise it would fail to accomplish, through the depravity 
of the heart. Our carnal affections tend to shut out the truth from 
the heart ; hence Christ said : " How can ye believe, which receive 
honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from 
God only?" 1 While carnal affections tend to prevent the propei 
influence of the truth, the Spirit exercises an opposite influence, 
and "lusts against the flesh." As this influence gives the word 
an efficacy which it would not otherwise possess, it is something 
superadded to the intrinsic power of the word. For this direct 
influence, the Psalmist prays : " Open thou mine eyes, that I may 
behold wondrous things out of thy law;" 2 and for this, the prayers 
recorded in the New Testament were offered : " Lord, increase our 
faith." 3 " Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief." 4 This 
influence operated on the two disciples, when their understandings 
were opened, that they understood the Scriptures. 5 This influence 
is prayed for by every child of God, when, as he opens the Bible, 
he prays that what he is about to read, may be blessed to the good 
of his soul. And it is prayed for by the faithful minister of the 
gospel, and by every devout hearer, when at the beginning of a 
sermon, they ask God to make his truth effectual. 

Besides the word of truth, the dispensations of Providence are 
used by the Holy Spirit, as means of sanctification. Afflictions 
are often blessed to the spiritual good of God's people. David 
says : " Before I was afflicted, I went astray ; but now have I kept 
thy word." 6 These afflictions are chastisements which our heavenly 
Father employs, to make us partakers of his holiness." 7 In 
themselves, afflictions have no sanctifying efficacy, and many who 
are tried by them, are incited to greater hatred of God ; but the 
Holy Spirit accompanies them to the believer with a sanctifying 
power, and uses them to wean his affections from the world, and 
fix them on God. When outward things either cease to give him 
enjoyment, or produce positive grief and pain, he finds within him 
a source of happiness, in the exercise of faith and hope in God. 
Hence, in his darkest hours, as to worldly prosperity, the believer 

1 John. v. 44. 2 Ps. cxix. 18. s Luke xvii. 5. 

4 Mark ix. 24. 5 Luke xxiv# 45# 6 p s> C5 j x> G7# 



Heb. xii. 10. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 287 

sometimes finds his prospects of heaven most clear, and his foretaste 
of future blessedness most delightful. 



Section VI.— FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 

We have said, that the Holy Spirit continues to sanctify those 
whom he has regenerated. In consequence of this, they persevere 
in a course of holy obedience to the end of life. Whatever struggles 
it may cost, and whatever temporary departures from the straight 
line of duty may mark their course, they are graciously preserved 
from total and final apostacy. This truth may be proved by the 
following arguments : 

1. By the will of God, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, that 
which is produced in regeneration, is immortal. This is signified 
by the language of the Scriptures : " The hidden man of the heart, 
in that which is not corruptible." 1 "Being born of the incorrupti- 
ble." 2 "Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin, for his 
seed remaineth in him." 3 Grace in the heart is here represented 
as incorruptible and abiding, and as securing its possessor from 
sin, that is, from a life of sin, such as unregenerate men pursue. 
The same truth is taught in these words of Christ : " He that 
believeth, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemna- 
tion, but is passed from death unto life." 4 The new life which 
grace produces, is in the present possession of the believer, and is 
here called everlasting. Its perpetuity is asserted in another form, 
in the words "Neither shall he come into condemnation." If one 
who has been made a new creature, and justified by faith, can 
return to the state from which divine grace has rescued him, he 
will come again into condemnation ; but this is declared in these 
words of the infallible teacher, to be impossible : " If they who 
have passed from death to life, may return again to death, their 
present life is not everlasting ;" and the assurance, neither shall 
come into condemnation, is groundless. The same truth is exhibited 
in another light, in these words of Paul : " Knowing that Christ, 
being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no dominion 
over him ; likewise reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto 

\l Pet. iii. 4. 2 1 Pet. i. 23. 

3 1 John iii. 9. 4 John v. 24. 



288 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord." 1 Here 
believers are taught to account the new life which they have 
received, to be like the life of Christ, raised from the dead. As 
death hath no more dominion over him, the resemblance would fail 
in a most important particular, if their spiritual life were not 
immortal. As death can have no more dominion over the risen 
Saviour, so, death can have no more dominion over those who, in 
regeneration, have passed from death to life, and have been raised 
up together with Christ. 

2. The union of believers with Christ is indissoluble. His love 
holds them fast. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ," 
&c. 2 " Having loved his own, he loved them to the end." 3 " His 
power holds them fast ; neither shall any pluck them out of my 
hand." 4 Such is their union to him, that their life is said to be in 
him, and he is called their life. 5 The life of the risen Jesus, is the 
life of his people, and such is their union with him, as to render 
this life operative in them : "If when we were enemies, we were 
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being 
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." 6 As his death was 
efficacious to bring us into a state of reconciliation with God, his 
life, now that he has been raised from the dead, and is ever living 
to make intercession for us, and is the source of our life, hid in the 
Godhead, will much more preserve us in this state of reconciliation, 
and secure our final and complete salvation. 

3. The promises of God secure our preservation in Christ. 
When the new covenant is made with believers, by writing the law 
in their hearts, the accompanying promise is : "I will be to them 
a God, and they shall be to me a people." 7 It is true that the 
Israelites were once accounted the people of God ; and that they 
departed from God, and were rejected by him ; and the same 
departure and rejection might happen to believers in Christ, if they 
were under the same covenant. But God found fault with the old 
covenant precisely on this ground, that it did not secure his people 
from disobedience and rejection : " Because they continued not in 
my covenant, and I regarded them not." 8 Having found fault 
with this covenant, which did not put the law in their hearts, and 

1 Rom. vi. 9, 11. 2 Rom. viii. 35-39. 3 John xiii. 1. 

4 John x. 28. 5 Col. iii. 3, 4. 6 Roui. v. 10. 

7 Heb. viii. 10. 8 Heb. viii. 9. 






BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 289 

secure them from rejection, he abolishes that covenant, and makes 
a new one, founded on better promises : " I will put my fear in 
their hearts, that they shall not depart from me." 1 "Believers 
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ;" 2 and 
the power which keeps them through faith, keeps that faith in 
existence and exercise, or it would fail to preserve them. This 
preservation of their faith, follows from the intercession of Christ, 3 
who prayed for Peter, that his faith should not fail ; and as he ever 
liveth to make intercession, 4 the preservation of faith is secured by 
the continued supplies of his grace, which otherwise would not be 
sufficient for his people. It is manifest that Paul entertained these 
views, when he wrote to the Philippians : " Being confident of this 
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will 
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." 5 

4. Final apostasy, when it does occur, is accounted for, in the 
Scriptures, on the ground that there was an absence of true 
religion. This is clearly expressed by John : " They went out 
from us, but they were not of us ; for if they had been of us, they 
would no doubt have continued with us ; but they went out, that 
they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." 6 With 
this agrees the teaching of Christ, in the parable of the seed sown 
in different kinds of ground, and explained by him of the word in 
its effect on different classes of hearers. The stony ground hearers 
" in time of temptation fell away," 7 because the seed had not much 
depth of earth. There may be much appearance of religion where 
it does not really exist. Some, the Saviour has informed us, will 
seek to enter in, saying : " Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in 
thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils ? and in thy name 
have done many wonderful works ?" These applicants are rejected, 
not on the ground that their plea was false. Their profession of 
Christ, and their prophesying, and working of miracles, in his 
name, are not denied : but the ground of this rejection is stated in 
these words : " Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I never 
knew you." 8 Now, if any of them had ever been true followers 

1 Jer. xxxii. 40. 2 1 Pet. i. 5. 3 Luke xxii. 32. 

4 Heb. vii. 25. 6 Phil. i. 6. 6 1 John ii. 19. 

' Luke viii. 13. 8 Matt. vii. 23. 
19 



290 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

of Christ, he must have known them as such, and therefore he 
could not say : " I never knew you." 

The text last considered, may assist us in explaining a passage 
in which many have found difficulty : "It is impossible for those 
who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, 
and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the 
good word of God, and the power of the world to come, if they 
shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance." 1 Apostasy, 
after great attainments in religion, is here supposed ; but these 
apostates had never been true disciples of Christ, distinguished by 
love to him, and works of holy obedience. In immediate connection 
with his account of them, Paul addresses true Christians thus : 
" Beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things 
which accompany salvation, though we thus speak, for God is not 
unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love." 2 The work 
and labor of love will be acknowledged by him in the great day, 
when the workers of iniquity will be rejected, whatever knowledge 
of divine things they may have possessed, and whatever miraculous 
gifts they may have been endowed with. The superiority of love 
to all knowledge, miraculous gifts, and all outward works, however 
costly and self-denying, is clearly taught in 1 Cor. xiii., and we 
are assured that all these, where love is wanting, will avail nothing. 
Hence all these, if without love, will not preserve from apostasy 
in this life, nor from rejection in the last day. 

In a practical use of this and some other passages, the minds of 
many have been distressed with the apprehension that they had 
committed the unpardonable sin. For their relief, it is important 
to observe, that the difficulty in the way of the salvation of the 
apostates here described, consists in the impossibility of renewing 
them again to repentance. No humble penitent, therefore, has 
any ground to fear. Whatever his backslidings may have been, if 
he now truly repents of his sin, and implores pardon through the 
blood of the cross, he may feel assured that the way of salvation 
is open to him. The renewal to repentance has, in his case, been 
accomplished ; and he may therefore know that he is not in the 
number of those, to whom this renewal is impossible. 

The confessions of men eminent for piety, prove that they are 

1 Heb. vi. 2 Heb. vi. 9. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 291 

not free from sin ; and the cases of David, who committed adultery, 
and Peter, who denied his master, prove that true saints have 
sometimes fallen into gross sins. But David was renewed to 
repentance, and the record of his penitential acknowledgments has 
been transmitted to us in the 51st Psalm. A look of Jesus melted 
Peter's heart, and he went out, and wept bitterly. But the 
apostates, who are described in the passage which we have been 
considering, are given over to hardness of heart : " It is impossible 
to renew them again to repentance." The difficulty is, not that 
the blood of Christ is insufficient to atone for sins so atrocious, but 
that it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. God 
never bestows the grace of repentance on such characters. But 
when one who has been born of God, falls into sin, this impossibility 
of renewing to repentance does not exist ; but his seed remaineth 
in him ; and divine grace brings him back from his wanderings, 
and restores him to the paths of righteousness. The fire of divine 
love in the heart, though its flame may be smothered for a time, 
is more easily rekindled than when first produced ; and it is never 
true of him, as it is of an unregenerate man who falls away, that 
the last state is worse than the first. 

Several other passages of Scripture, which have been understood 
to imply the apostasy of true believers, require consideration. 

"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away." 1 
This figurative representation, which the Saviour has employed, 
teaches that there is a sense, in which persons are "in" him, who 
do not bring forth the fruits of holiness. Such persons do not 
abide in him. 2 Their connection is not vital, but professional. 
They are among his disciples, but not of them ; for if they had 
been of them, they would no doubt have continued with them. 
The process of separating them, described by the words, "he 
taketh away," corresponds well with the removing of a branch 
which has been grafted into a stalk, but has failed to become vitally 
connected with it. The perseverance of true saints is taught in 
the remaining part of the verse : " Every branch that beareth fruit, 
he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." 

" If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge 
of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins ; but a 

1 John xv. 2. 2 John xv. 6. 



292 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which 
shall devour the adversaries." 1 This passage has sometimes 
severely tried the faith of weak believers. When conscious of 
having committed sins to which their will has consented, these 
words present themselves in dreadful array, and seem to deter them 
from all further approach to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, from 
which they once obtained peace. In such times of trial, the lan- 
guage of faith is, " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 2 
While this awful text fills with terror, the existence of an humble 
abiding trust in God is thus demonstrated, and, in view of it, other 
texts authorize encouragement and hope. With these encouraging 
and consolatory texts, the passage now under consideration, if 
properly understood, cannot be inconsistent. It describes the sin 
of those Hebrews who, after embracing the gospel of Christ, 
forsook the assembly of Christians, 3 and turned back to Judaism. 
To them no efficacious sacrifice for sin remained, in the abolished 
ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation ; and if that of Christ 
were renounced, no other could be found. But these words were 
never designed to deter any humble penitent from free approach 
to the atoning sacrifice of Christ, whatever sins he may have com- 
mitted. The assurance that Jesus has given, " Him that cometh 
to me, I will in no wise cast out," 4 is sufficient to banish all fear 
from those who put their trust in him. The same invitation which 
first made them welcome, and the same assurance which first gave 
them peace, remain to encourage their continued confidence in his 
power and grace. 

" Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought 
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath 
counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified, an 
unholy thing; and hath done despite to the spirit of grace?" 5 The 
difficulty in this passage is found in the phrase " wherewith he 
was sanctified." Do these words teach that persons who have been 
sanctified may apostatise ? Let it be observed that the word 
sanctify, among the Hebrews, was used to denote external conse- 
cration to God. 6 This consecration, under the former dispensa- 
tion, to which the Hebrews had been accustomed, was by the blood 

1 Heb. x. 26, 27. 2 Job xiii. 15. * Heb. x. 25. 

* John. vi. 37. 5 Heb. x. 29. 6 Ex. xiii. 2 ; xix. 10, 22, 23, &o- 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 293 

of animals. In professing Christianity, they had turned from the 
blood of animals to the blood of Christ ; and their consecration to 
the service of Christ was by professed faith in his blood. In re- 
turning to Judaism, they rejected this precious blood, and accounted 
it an unholy thing, as if it had been the blood of a vile impostor. 
But it is better to interpret the phrase by referring the pronoun 
" he" to the last antecedent, " the Son of God." The Son of God 
was sanctified and sent into the world; 1 and as the priests of the 
law were consecrated with blood, Jesus, as our great High Priest, 
may be said to have been consecrated with the blood of the new 
covenant. 

" The just shall live by faith ; but if any man draw back, my 
soul shall have no pleasure in him." 2 In this verse our translators 
have supplied the words, " any man," which have no corresponding 
word in the Greek. The regular translation would be, " If he 
draw back," &c. Thus rendered, the pronoun "he" naturally 
refers to the just man, mentioned in the preceding clause ; and the 
words seem to imply that a just man may draw back, so that God 
will have no pleasure in him. An argument for supplying the 
words " any man," may be drawn from the fact that these words 
are quoted from the Septuagint version of Habakkuk ii. 6, in 
which the last clause occurs first ; and the man who draws back is 
manifestly distinguished from the just man. The same distinction 
is made by Paul in the words which immediately follow : " We 
are not of them who draw back to perdition, but of them who 
believe to the saving of the soul." The introduction of the words 
"any man," may therefore give a correct exposition of Paul's 
words : still, they are an exposition, and not a translation. Paul 
has inverted the order of the two clauses written by the pro- 
phet : and, in so doing, he was doubtless guided by the Holy 
Spirit, for some wise purpose ; and it becomes us to learn from his 
words, as they have been given by the Spirit for our instruction and 
admonition. The prophet's warning was, " If any man draw back, 
my soul shall have no pleasure in him." This warning Paul places 
in such order, as to make it apply to the just man. What is true 
of any man, must be true of the just man ; and Paul will not deny 
to the just man the benefit of this admonition. Such admonition, 

1 John x. 36. 2 Heb. x. 38. 



291 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

in the apostle's view, was not inconsistent with the doctrine of the 
saints' final perseverance. 

" When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, 
and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them ; for his iniquity that 
he hath done, shall he die." 1 These words are to be understood 
in the same manner as the words of Paul which have just been 
considered. The terms "just" and " righteous" are of like import, 
and are descriptive of those who obey God's commands, and enjoy 
his favor. Such persons need the admonitions contained in these 
passages ; and they are given in language precisely adapted to the 
case. To all, except the Searcher of hearts, there is an uncer- 
tainty respecting men's character in his sight ; and, on the ground 
of this uncertainty, opportunity is given for the needed admonition. 
Paul spoke with confidence, that the Hebrews whom he addressed 
were " of those who believe to the saving of the soul :" yet, without 
relying on his own estimate of their character, or deriving from it 
an assurance of their perseverance, he warned them earnestly 
against apostasy. 

" If, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through 
the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are 
again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse 
with them than the beginning." 2 These words describe men who 
have been reformed in their conduct by the influence of the gospel, 
but without a thorough change of heart. This appears from the 
proverb applied to them : " The dog has returned to his vomit, and 
the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire." 3 As the 
temporary change of the dog and the sow had not altered their 
natural propensities, so it was with these men. Their change, 
though a reform, had not made them new creatures. 

" Whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from 
grace." 4 These words describe a change in their doctrinal views as 
to the method of salvation. They had turned from salvation by 
grace to salvation by the law. But how far the state of their 
hearts was influenced by their doctrinal creed, either before or* 
after the change here described, the passage does not inform us. 

" Concerning faith having made shipwreck." 5 " Overthrow the 

1 Ezek. xviii. 26. 2 2 Pet. ii. 20. 8 2 Pet. ii. 22. 

* Gal. v. 4. 6 1 Tim. i. 19. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 295 

faith of some." 1 Wrong views had been inculcated by these men 
respecting the resurrection of the dead. It may be that neither 
they, nor those who were misled by them, had ever received the 
love of the truth. On this point the passage says nothing. 

" Through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom 
Christ died?" 2 When the stronger Christian will not, for the sake 
of a weak brother, deny himself a carnal indulgence, he exhibits a 
criminal disregard of his weak brother's spiritual interest. The 
tendency of his conduct is the ruin of his weak brother ; and the 
criminality is to be judged by its tendency; and is the same, 
whether the tendency goes into effect, or is prevented by the inter- 
position of divine grace. The question propounded does not affirm 
what the result will be ; but impressively exhibits the guilt of the 
offender by contrasting his conduct with that of Christ. Christ 
died for the weak brother ; and would you cause him to perish, 
rather than deny yourself a trifling gratification ? 

" I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that 
by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be 
a castaway." 3 These words contain a manifest reference to the 
Grecian games, in which the herald, who announced them, took no 
part in the contest, or the previous preparation for it ; and there- 
fore did not receive the crown. Paul was not only a herald, 
making the gospel proclamation, but he entered the lists as a com- 
batant, and made diligent preparation for the conflict, by keeping 
under his body. He did this, knowing that his preaching, or act- 
ing the herald, to others, would not secure a crown to himself. He 
prepared diligently for the combat, that he might receive the 
crown, and not be a castaway, or one rejected by the Judge. 

The explanation which has been given of this passage, removes 
all appearance of inconsistency between it and the doctrine of the 
saints' final perseverance ; yet it admits that Paul was stimulated 
to activity and perseverance in the Christian conflict, by the belief 
that his obtaining of the crown depended on his perseverance and 
success in the struggle. They who understand the doctrine of 
perseverance to imply that God's people will obtain the crown 
without the struggle, totally mistake the matter. The doctrine is, 
that God's people will persevere in the struggle ; and to suppose 

1 2 Tim. ii 18. 2 1 Cor. viii. 11. 3 1 Cor. ix. 27. 



296 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

that they will obtain the crown without doing so, is to contradict 
the doctrine. It is a wretched and fatal perversion of the doc- 
trine, if men conclude that, having been once converted, they will 
be saved, whatever may be their coarse of life. God's word plainly 
declares, that " he who soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap 
corruption:" and every man who does not keep under his body, 
and bring it into subjection, and who does not endure to the end, 
in this spiritual conflict, will assuredly fail to receive the crown. 
Without this, no conversion which he may have undergone, and 
not even a call to apostleship, will secure the approbation of the 
final Judge. 

We have said that the new creature produced in regeneration, is 
immortal ; but this immortality is dependent on the will of God, 
and is secured by means which God has provided. Adam, in his 
primeval innocence, was immortal ; but his life was sustained, 
under God, by the fruits of the garden which had been assigned to 
his use. So God has appointed necessary means for preserving 
the divine life in the soul, and the use of these means is as indis- 
pensable to the accomplishment of the purpose, in this, as in all 
other cases in which he has chosen to work by means. The 
doctrine of final perseverance, when properly understood, does not 
teach that God's people are in no sense in danger of final apostasy. 
Paul tells us that he had often been in perils of waters. 1 One of 
these times of danger was the shipwreck which he experienced in 
his voyage to Rome. He, and all his companions in the vessel, 
were in great danger ; and they could not have been saved, if the 
necessary means for their preservation had not been used. Yet 
God had both purposed and promised their deliverance. The 
righteous, notwithstanding the purpose and promise of God, are 
scarcely saved. 2 They succeed at last, as by a narrow escape. 
Through danger, imminent danger, they are at last delivered : 
and, in order to that deliverance, the use of the appointed means 
is as necessary as the appointment itself; — as necessary as the 
purpose of God. 

The warnings which the Scriptures give to the people of God, 
constitute an important part of the means which God has appointed 
for their perseverance in holiness to eternal life. As the rock in 

1 2 Cor. xi. 26. 2 1 Pet. iv. 18. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 297 

the mariner's chart guards him from being dashed to pieces, so 
these warnings preserve the spiritual mariner from destruction. 
The awful warnings given by Paul to the Hebrews, were designed 
to guard them against final apostasy. They therefore imply that 
there was danger of such apostasy. The heirs of promise might 
have strong consolation, in the hope founded on the oath and 
promise of God, that they would be brought safely through the 
danger. In the wisdom of God, the warnings are so given, as to 
secure their proper effect, without destroying that confidence in 
God, which is the Christian's hope and joy. To make this clear, 
and to derive the proper benefit from these warnings, let us briefly 
review them. 

The warning given in Heb. vi. 4-7, was designed for real Christ- 
ians. Every clause in the description of the persons, whose apostasy 
is declared to be fatal, would in other connections be understood to 
denote true Christians. The Hebrew Christians are elsewhere 
described as persons "illuminated." 1 The first particular in the 
description here, is, " who were once enlightened." Other particu- 
lars are added, agreeing with well known peculiarities, which dis- 
tinguished the followers of Christ. These words, therefore, contain 
a general description of Christians ; and the warning which they 
contain was applicable to Christians, and designed for their benefit. 
"With these features of the Christian character, which are so vividly 
portrayed, and which were so well known in the days of primitive 
Christianity, there was generally connected a love to the truth, 
which was necessary to the full and proper effect of divine instruc- 
tion. When this operated, the warning here proposed had its 
proper effect. These persons were like the fruitful ground, which 
received blessing from God ; 2 and this love the apostle believed to 
exist in those to whom his epistle was directed. 3 They who 
possessed this love were moved by his warning, to make advance 
in spiritual attainments, according to his exhortation in the begin- 
ning of the chapter. But this result did not invariably follow the 
instructions and warning, which were given to those who possessed 
the general features of the Christian character. Apostasy some- 
times occurred ; and apostasy which was final and hopeless. This 
fact gave just occasion for the warning. 

Heb. x. 32. 2 Heb. vi. 7. 8 Heb. vi. 9, 10. 



298 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

Similav remarks may be made on the passages in the 10th 
chapter of Hebrews. That they were designed as warnings to 
true Christians, may be seen in the fact that Paul includes himself 
in the number. " If we sin wilfully," 1 &c, and in the further fact 
that the just "are warned against drawing back." 2 The alarming 
consequences of apostasy are exhibited in the absence of all further 
sacrifice for sin ; in the sore punishment which is deserved ; — and 
in the perdition to which the apostate draws back. All these conse- 
quences were set before the Christians, who are addressed, and 
the apostle again expresses his confidence, that they, with himself, 
will, in the belief and love of the truth, receive the warning and be 
saved. 

The warnings against apostasy, and the exhortations to perseve- 
rance, were not addressed to false professors, as such. The apostle 
was not solicitous that these should persevere in their false profes- 
sion. They to whom his epistle was directed, were all exhorted 
to hold fast their profession, on the supposition that it had been 
honestly made. All had exhibited the appearances of true religion, 
and were treated accordingly. The plant which springs from seed 
sown in stony places, does not differ from that which is sown in 
good ground, except in not having much depth of earth ; and this 
defect becomes manifest, when it withers under the beams of the 
sun. So those who afterwards apostatise, agree in the profession 
which they make, and all the appearances of religion which they 
exhibit, with those who endure to the end. The difference is, that 
the word has not a deep place in their hearts ; and this is r discovered 
only by their apostasy/ " They went out from us, that they might 
be made manifest, that they are not all of us." 3 Hence, until 
their apostasy occurs, the same means of spiritual cultivation are 
employed for their benefit, as for others ; the same hopes are 
entertained for them ; and the same language is used in describing 
them. The tendency of this spiritual cultivation is to render 
them fruitful, like the rest; but it fails to produce this effect, 
because they have no sincere and abiding love of the truth. 

The doctrine of final perseverance, properly understood, gives no 
encouragement to sluggishness or negligence in duty ; much less 
does it lead to licentiousness. He who takes occasion from it to 

1 Heb. x. 26. 2 Heb. x. 38. s 1 John ii. 19. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 



299 



sin against God, or to be indolent in his service, not only misun- 
derstands, and misapplies the doctrine, but has reason to fear that 
his heart is not right before God. Perseverance in holiness is the 
only infallible proof that the heart is right ; and he who ceases to 
persevere, on the presumption that his heart is right, believes with- 
out the proper evidence, and is wofully hazarding his eternal 
interests on his presumption. The doctrine is, that grace in the 
heart will produce perseverance to the end ; and where the effect 
is not produced, the cause does not exist. Every man, therefore, 
whatever his past professions and attainments may have been, has 
reason to take alarm, if he finds his heart inclined to depart from 
Christ : and the greater his past attainments may have been, the 
greater is the occasion for alarm ; because his case, if he falls away, 
will so much the more resemble that in which renewal to repent- 
ance is impossible. 

To reject the doctrine of final perseverance, tends to fix the 
hope of salvation on human effort, and not on the purpose and 
grace of God. If, in God's method of salvation, no provision has 
been made, which secures the safe keeping of the regenerate, and 
their perseverance in holiness, their salvation is left dependent on 
their own efforts, and their trust must be in that on which success 
depends. All that God has done for them, will fail to bring them 
through, if this effort, originating in themselves, be not super- 
added ; and the eye of hope is necessarily directed to this human 
effort, as that on which the momentous issue depends. Thus the 
denial of the doctrine draws off the heart from simple trust in 
God, and therefore tends to produce apostasy. The just shall live 
by faith. 1 Simple trust in God, is necessary to preserve the 
spiritual life ; and to trust in man, and make flesh our arm, 2 is to 
fall under the curse, and draw back to perdition. In our first 
coming to Christ, we renounce all confidence in self, and put our 
entire trust in the mercy and power of God : and in the same faith 
with which we began, we must persevere to the end of our course. 
Worldly wisdom may encourage self-reliance, and regard it as 
necessary to success : but the wisdom that is from above teaches 
us to renounce and avoid it as ruinous to the soul. 

Convinced of his weakness and helplessness, the believer learns 
more and more in this life of faith to trust God, and to have no 

1 Heb. x. 38. 2 Jer. xvii. 5. 



300 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

confidence in himself. He learns, by daily experience, the 
treachery of his own heart, and is increasingly weaned from 
the folly of trusting in it. It becomes his more earnest prayer, 
as he makes greater progress in the knowledge of himself and 
the way of salvation. " Hold thou me up." 1 He looks forward 
to the temptations and trials through which he has to pass ; 
and, unwilling to trust himself in the least degree, asks God, 
earnestly and importunately to keep him to the end. This 
prayer he may hope that God will answer, if the doctrine 
of final perseverance be true. If the grace to persevere is a 
gift of God, it is a proper subject of prayer; and that doctrine 
best accords with God's method of salvation, which teaches us 
to come boldly to the throne of grace, for the mercy and grace to 
help in every time of need. We cannot now ask with confidence, 
for grace to help us through all future times of need, and to incline 
and strengthen us to persevere to the end, if the bestowment of 
such persevering grace is not within God's plan of salvation. 

The doctrine of final perseverance is full of consolation to the 
believer, when ready to faint in his spiritual warfare. So far as 
he finds, in a careful examination of his heart, evidence that the 
love of God has been shed abroad there by the Holy Spirit, he is 
enabled to regard this grace as an earnest of the future inheritance, 
and to rejoice in hope of obtaining that inheritance in full posses- 
sion, at the time appointed of his heavenly Father. If doubts 
arise, they spring not from a view of incompleteness in God's 
method of salvation, but they refer exclusively to the question 
whether his heart has been brought to put simple and exclusive 
trust in that divine method, and the provision of mercy which it 
includes. As the best termination of these doubts, he views the 
way open for him to come now, if never before, and cast himself 
on this mercy, so richly provided, and so gloriously adapted to his 
necessities. 

Section VII.— PERFE C TION. 

The process of sanctification, which is continued during the 
present life, is completed when the subjects of it are perfectly 
fitted for the service and enjoyments of heaven. In this work of 

1 Ps. cxix. 117. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 301 

the Spirit, the resurrection of the body is included, and the fash- 
ioning of it like the glorious body of Christ. Having been pre- 
destinated to be conformed to the image of God's dear son, 1 the 
purposed work of grace is not completed until we appear in glory, 
with our bodies like the glorious body of the Redeemer. For this 
perfect conformity, the saints on earth long, and to it they look as 
the consummation of their wishes and hopes : " Then shall I be 
satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness." 2 This was the object of 
Paul's earnest desire, the prize for which he put forth every effort. 
He refers to it in these words : " If by any means I might attain 
unto the resurrection of the dead : not as though I had already 
attained, either were already perfect ; but I follow after, if that I 
may apprehend that for avhich also I am apprehended of Christ 
Jesus. I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus." 3 

The work of grace will not be completed until the second com- 
ing of Christ : " He which hath begun a good work in you, will 
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." 4 Then the last change 
will be made, which will fit us for the eternal service and enjoy- 
ment of God, in his high and holy place. Then we shall be like 
him; for we shall see him as he is." "Now we know in part; 
but then we shall know even as also we are known." " Then that 
which is perfect will have come ;" and until then every saint must 
say with Paul: "Not as though I had already attained, or were 
already perfect." 

Besides this final perfection, to which the saints are taught to 
aspire, there are stages in their progress to which the name per- 
fection is, in a subordinate sense, applied in the Holy Scriptures. 
The disembodied saints, now in the presence of God, though they 
have not attained to the resurrection of the body, are nevertheless 
called "just men made perfect." 5 They are free from the body 
of death, free from sin, free from all the tribulations and sorrows 
of this world, and are present with the Lord, and in the enjoyment 
of his love. 

Even in the present life there are stages in the Christian's 
progress to which the term perfection is applied. When they have 



1 Kom. viii. 29. 2 Ps. xvii. 15. 3 Phil, iii. 11, 12, 13. 

* Phil. i. 6. 6 Heb. xii. 23. 



302 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

attained to an enlarged knowledge of divine truth, they are said to 
be perfect, or of full age, to distinguish them from those who have 
learned only the first principles of the doctrine of Christ. 1 Men 
who make a full and consistent exhibition of the religious character, 
by a godly life, are called perfect. So Job was " perfect and 
upright, fearing God and eschewing evil." 2 To Christians gener- 
ally the term "perfect" appears to be applied, in the exhortation 
of Paul: " Let us, as many as be perfect, be thus minded." 3 He 
here includes himself among the perfect; and yet, in the same 
chapter, 4 he affirms that he was not already perfect. It is clear, 
therefore, that the words are used in different senses in the two 
places. 

No perfection to which the people of God attain in the present 
life, includes perfect freedom from sin. Job, though a perfect man, 
said, " If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me. If 
I say, I am perfect, it also shall prove me perverse." 5 Paul, though 
numbering himself among the perfect, said, " When I would do 
good, evil is present with me." 6 "I am carnal, sold under sin." 7 
John says, " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves ;" 8 
and Solomon, " There is not a just man upon earth that doeth 
good and sinneth not." 9 With these declarations of God's word, 
the experience of Christians in all ages has agreed; and they 
have found need for the daily prayer, " Forgive us our trespasses." 

In the precept, " Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven 
is perfect," 10 we may take the term in its highest sense. As we are 
commanded to love God with all the heart — to be holy because he 
is holy ; it is our duty to be perfectly free from sin ; and to come 
up to this standard, should be our constant aim and effort. We 
cannot attain to a perfect knowledge of God in the present life ; 
but we may follow on to know him. 11 So we cannot attain to a 
perfect likeness in holiness, yet we may be " changed into the same 
image from glory to glory." 12 Progress in the divine life is full of 
reward, and full of encouragement, even while we are fighting the 
good fight of faith, and before we obtain the victor's crown. The 

1 Heb. vi. 1 ; v. 14. 2 Job i. 1. 8 Phil. iii. 15. 

* Phil. iii. 12. 6 Job ix. 20. 6 Rom. vii. 21. 

7 Rom. vii. 14. 8 1 John i. 8. 9 Eccl. vii. 20 

,0 Matt. v. 48. u Hosea vi. 3. 12 2 Cor. iii. 19. 



BLESSINGS OF GRACE. 303 

promise of grace to help in every struggle, of continued suc- 
cess in every conflict, and of final victory, is sufficient encourage- 
ment to put forth every effort. We should ever press toward the 
mark, ever keep the high standard of perfection in view, and aim 
to reach it. " Having these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse 
ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness 
in the fear of God." 1 

The indication is fearful when a man excuses sin in himself, on 
the ground that perfection is not attainable in the present life. A 
true Christian may have a besetting sin ; but any one who has an 
indulged, allowed, or excused sin, has reason to fear that the love 
of sin has never been crucified in his heart. And he who satisfies 
himself with any standard below absolute perfection in holiness, 
is so far allowing sin in himself, and giving the indication which 
ought to alarm him. 

In the spiritual warfare, of which every believer is conscious, 
the love of God in the heart is in conflict with other affections 
which are not duly subordinated to it. Growth in grace implies 
an ascendancy of the holy affection over those with which it con- 
tends. That gains strength, and those grow weaker, as the house 
of David waxed stronger, and the house of Saul weaker, 2 in their 
struggle for the dominion over Israel. It is therefore our duty, 
that we may grow in grace, to cherish the holy affections, which 
rise heavenward, and to mortify the carnal affections, which are 
earthward in their tendency. No man on earth can justly claim 
that the affections of his heart are perfectly regulated according 
to the high standard of God's law. The internal conflict between 
the law in the members and the law in the mind, does not cease 
till God calls away the spirit from its union with the mortal body. 
The phrase "law in our members," 3 does not imply that our sin 
belongs properly to our material bodies ; but it nevertheless appa- 
rently suggests that the conflict between the law in the members 
and the law in the mind, may be expected to continue as long as 
the members and the mind have their present relation to each other. 
Just men are made perfect 4 when they become disembodied spirits. 
When absent from the body, they are present with the Lord ; 5 and 
* 

1 2 Cor. vii. 1. 2 2 Sam. iii. 1. 3 Kom. vii. 23. 

* Heb. xii. 23. ' 6 2 Cor. v. 8. 



304 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

they are then holy ; for "without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord. 1 

We should not attribute to death the efficiency of our final de- 
liverance from sin. It is only an instrument which the Holy Spirit 
uses in his work, just as he has used the many afflictions which 
have preceded death, and of which death is the termination. As 
this is the last suffering which the righteous will endure, the last 
enemy which remains to be destroyed, it is appropriately used as 
the last instrumentality which the Holy Spirit will employ in his 
work. And it is a most suitable instrumentality. Death intro- 
duces us into the full knowledge of God, which is necessary to the 
perfect love of him. It opens to our view the unseen things of 
the eternal world, that they may have their full and proper influ- 
ence on our minds. It separates us for ever from the things of 
earth, to which our affections have been so strongly inclined to 
cleave. The death of a beloved friend has often been blessed as 
a means of our sanctification : but when we die, all our surviving 
friends die to us at once. The loss of property has weaned us 
from the world : but at death we lose all our earthly possessions at 
a single stroke. God may have burned down our dwellings and con- 
sumed in the flames the coffers which contained our gold, when he 
graciously designed to direct our thoughts to the house not made 
with hands, and to the treasure which cannot be consumed. What, 
then, when the earth itself, which he has given for the habitation 
of men, and all therein which he has given them to enjoy, shall 
be burned up in the last conflagration ; or shall be shown to us as 
prepared to be cast into that funeral fire ? This is well adapted 
to eradicate from the heart the love of the things that perish. 
This fit instrumentality the Spirit employs in completing his work 
of sanctification. Yet, as in all our afflictions, the efficiency is not 
in the means employed, but in the divine power which employs 
them to fulfil his gracious purpose. 

1 TIeb. wi. 14. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 305 



CHAPTER IV. 

sovereignty. of grace. 

God bestows the blessings oe his grace, not according to 
the works of the recipient, but according to his own sove- 
reign pleasure. 1 

God is sovereign in doing what he pleases, uncontrolled by any 
other being. " He doth according to his will, in the armies of 
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay 
his hand, or say unto him: 'What doest thou?'" 2 No sup-erior 
being exists, who can dictate to Jehovah what he should do, or 
hinder him from the execution of his pleasure, or call him to 
account for anything that he has done. 

Sovereignty is to be distinguished from arbitrariness. In the 
latter, the will of the agent directs the action, without reference to 
a wise or good purpose to be accomplished. When God acts, it is 
according to his good pleasure. His pleasure is good, because it is 
always directed to a good end. He is sovereign in his acts, because 
his acts are determined by his own perfections. He has a rule for 
what he does ; but this rule is not prescribed to him by any other 
being, nor does it exist independently of himself. It is found in 
his own nature. In his acts, his nature is unfolded and displayed. 

In some respects the divine nature is so far made known to us, 
that we are able to understand the rule to which his acts conform. 
We so far understand his justice, that the distribution of rewards 
and punishments according to the works of men, is a process for 
which we can account, and the result of which we can in part 
foretell. But there are mysteries in the divine nature which are 
too deep for us to fathom : and hence we are unable to assign a 
rule for the divine proceedings. These are the cases which we 
specially refer to the sovereignty of God. He is not less sovereign 
in his justice, than in the dispensations for which he has given us 

1 2 Tim. i. 9 ; Horn. ix. 16 ; Phil. ii. 13 , Matt. xi. 25 ; Luke x. 21 ; Eph. 
ii. 4-9. 

2 Dan. iv. 35. 

20 



306 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

no reason. But we bow before bis sovereignty, in the best exercise 
of simple confidence in him, when we are least able to account for 
his doings ; and it has been his pleasure, to leave much of his 
proceedings involved in mystery, that we may have occasion for 
the exercise of this confidence, which is pleasing to him, and 
profitable to ourselves. 

We are prone to demand the reason or rule of God's acts, and 
to prescribe rules according to which God should act; but the Scrip- 
tures teach us to restrain this propensity. " Shall the thing formed, 
say to him that formed it : ' Why hast thou made me thus ?'" 1 "He 
giveth not account of any of his matters." 2 But though the 
Scriptures do not explain those dispensations of God which we are 
compelled to refer to his inscrutable sovereignty, they teach us 
that God is not governed by such rules as human wisdom would 
prescribe. His ways are above our ways, and his thoughts above 
our thoughts, as high as the heavens are above the earth. 3 

Men often complain that God's ways are not equal, and charge 
him with partiality in his dealings with his creatures. When this 
charge is brought against him, in such a manner as to imply 
injustice in anything which he does, he repels the charge : " Are 
not my ways equal? Are not your ways unequal?" 4 But in 
bestowing the blessings of his grace, God claims the right to do 
what he will with his own. 5 He is not bound to give to every 
one an equal measure of undeserved favor; or to measure his 
freely bestowed blessings, according to the works of those on 
whom they are bestowed. This is clearly taught in the inspired 
word : " He hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not 
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace 
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 6 
"Not of works, but of him that calleth." 7 "Not of him that 
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." 8 

In the condition of the creatures that God has made, we observe 
a diversity to which we can assign no limits. In the vegetable 
kingdom, we find productions varying from the cedar of Lebanon 
to the minute blade of grass, some beautiful and fragrant, or adapted 



1 Rom. ix. 20. 2 Job xxxiii. 13. 3 Isaiah lv. 9. 

4 Ez. xviii. 29. 6 Matt. xx. 15. • 2 Tim. i. 9. 

7 Rom. ix. 11. 8 Rom. ix. 16. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 307 

to great utility, and others without any quality in which we can 

perceive a reason for their having been made. Among animals, a 

boundless variety appears, in their size, modes of life, and capacity 

for enjoyment. In the condition of human beings, the system of 

diversity continues. As the human species differs from every 

other species, so the condition of each individual man differs from 

that of every other individual belonging to the species. One mat. 

passes his days in affluence and ease, and another drags out his 

miserable existence in poverty and toil. One enjoys almost unin- 

. terrupted health, while another, from the beginning to the end of 

his life, is oppressed with disease and pain. One possesses intellect 

susceptible of the highest cultivation, and is favored with all the 

necessary means of cultivation ; while another gropes his way in 

mental darkness, either from the natural imbecility of his mind, or 

from the disadvantageous circumstances in which his lot of life is 

cast. Why is all this diversity ? We must answer in the words 

of Christ : "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." 1 

To some extent the sufferings and enjoyments of men in the present 

life are attributable to their personal conduct; and so far the 

reason for the divine dispensation towards them is apparent ; but, 

to a far greater extent, no cause can be assigned by human reason ; 

and we are compelled to ascribe the mysterious arrangement to 

the sovereignty of God. As he is sovereign in creation and 

providence, so he is sovereign in the dispensations of his grace. 

" He divides to every man severally as he will." 2 He withholds 

from the wise and prudent, and reveals unto babes, as it seems 

good in his sight. 3 When the question arises : " Who made 

thee to differ from another ?" the proper answer is : " It is not 

of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that 

showeth mercy;" 4 and "By the grace of God, I am what I am." 5 

In the dispensations of grace, full regard is had to justice, and 

nothing unjust is done to any one ; but grace rises high above 

justice, and gives ample room for the display of the divine 

sovereignty, in the distribution of blessings to which no individual 

has the slightest claim. 

Among the rules which human officiousness prescribes to God 



1 Matt. xi. 26. 2 1 Cor. xii. 11. 3 Matt. xi. 25. 

*Rom. ix. 16. 5 1 Cor. xv. 10. 



308 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

for the regulation of his conduct, we are prone to insist that the 
blessings of his grace should be distributed according to men's 
works. We do not presume to say, that they should be given for 
men's works, for this would render them rewards of debt, and not 
of grace. Scripture and reason unite in checking the presumption 
which would claim all that God bestows, as due on the ground of 
merit : but, while we relinquish the claim on the ground of positive 
merit, we are yet prone to conceive that there is a fitness in 
conferring the blessings of grace on those who have the negative 
merit of being less wicked than others. In this method of dispen- 
sation, which human wisdom would recommend, the blessings are 
conferred, not for men's works, but according to their works : but 
the wisdom of God rejects the counsel of human wisdom in this 
particular. A Saul of Tarsus, though chief of sinners, is made a 
happy recipient of divine grace, while an amiable young ruler, who 
had kept the law from his youth up, is left to perish in his self- 
righteousness. Publicans and harlots enter the kingdom of heaven ; 
while multitudes, less wicked than they, are left to the course to 
which natural depravity inclines them. These cases exemplify the 
explicit declarations of Scripture, which teach, that " we are saved 
and called, not according to our works." 

It is true, that in the last day, men will be judged according to 
the deeds done in the body. But it must be remembered that 
salvation begins in the present life. To the present life the calling 
of men from darkness to light is limited ; and the salvation and 
calling of the present life, are not according to men's works. As 
men are called "to be holy," the holiness which they exhibit as a 
consequence of the salvation and calling which they receive from 
the grace of God, distinguishes them from other men, and becomes 
a proper rule for the decisions of the last day. "We see, therefore, 
that the last judgment will be according to the deeds done in the 
body ; while it nevertheless remains, that we are saved and called, 
not according to our works, but according to the purpose and grace 
of God. 






SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 309 



Section 1.— ELECTION. 

All who will finally be saved, were chosen to salvation 
by God the Father, before the foundation of the world, and 
given to Jesus Christ in the covenant of grace. 1 

The doctrine of election encounters strong opposition in the 
hearts of men, and it is therefore necessary to examine thoroughly 
its claim to our belief. As it relates to an act of the divine mind, 
no proof of its truth can be equal to the testimony of the Scrip- 
tures. Let us receive their teachings on the subject without 
hesitation or distrust ; and let us require every preconceived opinion 
of ours, and all our carnal reasonings, to bow before the authority 
of God's holy word. 

The Scriptures clearly teach, that God has an elect or chosen 
people. " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect." 2 
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God. 3 " Shall not God 
avenge his own elect." 4 "Ye are a chosen generation." 5 "God 
hath chosen you to salvation." 6 "According as he hath chosen 
us in Christ." 7 Whatever may have been our prejudices against 
the doctrine of election as held and taught by some ministers of 
religion, it is undeniable, that, in some sense, the doctrine is found 
in the Bible ; and we cannot reject it, without rejecting that inspired 
book. We are bound by the authority of God, to receive the doc- 
trine ; and nothing remains, but that we should make an honest 
effort to understand it, just as it is taught in the sacred volume. 

The Scriptures teach expressly, that God's people are chosen to 
salvation. " Beloved, we are bound to give thanks always to God 
for you, because he hath from the beginning chosen you to salva- 
tion." 8 Some have been chosen by God 9 to peculiar offices ; as 
Paul was a chosen vessel, to bear the name of Christ to the 
Gentiles, and David was chosen to be the King of Israel. The 
wh6le nation of Israel was chosen out of all nations to be a 
peculiar people to the Lord : but it is very clear that the eternal 

1 Eph. i. 4, 5 ; 2 Thess. ii. 13 ; 1 Pet. i. 2 ; ii. 9 ; John vi. 37 ; Rom. viii. 33 ; 
John x. 27-29. 

2 Eom. viii. 33. 8 1 Pet. i. 2. * Luke xviii. 7, 
6 1 Pet. ii. f. 6 2 Thess. ii. 13. 7 Eph. i. 4. 

8 2 Thess. ii. 13. 9 Acts ix. 15. 



310 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

salvation of every Israelite was not secured by this national elec- 
tion ; for to some of them Christ said, " Ye shall die in your sins ; 
and whither I go ye cannot come." 1 The election to salvation is 
shown by the words of Paul in Rom. ix. 6, to be different from 
this national election : " They are not all Israel that are of Israel." 
" There is a remnant according to the election of grace." 2 The 
national election comprehended all Israel, according to the flesh : 
but the election of grace included those only who will finally be 
saved. It is not a choice merely to the means of salvation, for 
these were granted to all the nation of Israel : but it was a choice 
to salvation itself, and therefore respected the " remnant," and not 
the whole nation. 

The Scriptures plainly teach that the election of grace is from 
eternity. " God hath, from the beginning, chosen you to salva- 
tion." 3 "According as he hath chosen us in him from the founda- 
tion of the world." 4 " According to his own purpose and grace, which 
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 5 Election is 
a part of God's eternal purpose. Had it been his purpose to save 
all the human race, there would have been no elect from among 
men ; no peculiar people, no redeemed out of every nation. But 
his purpose to save did not include all the race ; and therefore, on 
some principle yet to be inquired into, some of the race have been 
selected, who will receive the kingdom prepared for them from the 
foundation of the world. The eternity of God's election ought 
not to excite in our hearts any objection against it. If, in the 
final judgment, God will distinguish between the righteous and the 
wicked, whatever he will then do in righteousness, it was right for 
him to purpose to do from all eternity. In his final sentence, all 
his preceding dispensations toward the children of men, and all 
their actions under these dispensations, will be carefully reviewed, 
and the final doom of every one will be pronounced in righteous- 
ness. All that will then be present to the divine mind, was before 
it from all eternity ; and what God will then do, he purposed to do 
from the beginning ; and the reasons for which he will do it, are 
the reasons for which he purposed to do it. There can be no 
wrong in the purpose, if it does not exist in the execution. If 



1 John viii. 22, 24. 2 Rom. xi. 5. 3 2 Thess. u. 13. 

* Eph. i. 4. 6 2 Tim. i. 9. 






SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 811 

God can fully justify at the last day, before the assembled universe, 
all his dispensations toward the children of men ; all these dispen 
sations must be right, and the purpose of them from eternity must 
have been right : and if a division of the human race can then be 
righteously made, that division was righteously made in the purpose 
of God ; and consequently God's election was made in righteousness. 
The Scriptures teach that election is of grace, and not of works. 
" Not of works, lest any man should boast ;"* and if it be of works, 
then grace is no more grace. 2 The subject is illustrated by the case 
of Jacob and Esau, of whom Jacob was chosen, before the children 
had done either good or evil ; and in applying this illustration, 
Paul says : " That the purpose of God according to election 
might stand; not of works, but of him that calleth." 3 In the last 
day, God will discriminate between the righteous and the wicked, 
according to their works : and it was the eternal purpose of God, 
that this discrimination should then be made on that ground ; but 
the purpose of God includes an earlier discrimination made in 
effectual calling ; whence we read of those who are " the called 
according to his purpose." 4 This discrimination, made at the time 
of calling, is not according to men's works, for it is expressly 
said, " who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not 
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and 
grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus, before the world 
began ;" 5 calling is a blessing of grace, not conferred for 
previous works, nor according to previous works. Why is 
this benefit bestowed ? The answer is, " not of works, but of 
him that calleth." 6 "Not of him that willeth, or of him that 
runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." 7 It is God that worketh 
in us to will and to do, of his good pleasure." 8 The first actual 
separation of God's people from the rest of mankind, is made 
when they are called out of darkness into his marvellous light ; 
and this calling is not according to men's works, but according to 
the good pleasure of God. A discrimination is then made, for 
reasons wholly unknown to mortals ; not according to the works 
of men, but on a ground which infinite wisdom approves. The 
reason of the procedure is laid deep in the counsels of the divine 

1 Eph. ii. 9. 2 Rom. xi. 6. 3 Rom. ix. 11. 

* Rom. viii. 28. 5 2 Tim. i. 9. 6 Rom. ix. 11. 

* Rom. ix. 16. 8 Phil. ii. 13. . . 



312 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

mind ; and we are compelled to say respecting it, " How unsearch- 
able are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" 1 This 
actual separation of God's people from the rest of mankind, made 
in their effectual calling, is like everything which he does, the 
fulfilment of his eternal purpose. " He worketh all things after 
the counsel of his will ;" 2 and " known unto him are all his works 
from the beginning." 3 The purpose to effect this first actual 
discrimination, is God's election ; and the ground of the discrimi- 
nation when it actually takes place, is nothing different from that 
of the purpose to discriminate ; that is, it is the ground of election. 
The discrimination, when actually made, is approved by the wisdom 
of God ; and all the consequences of it will be approved in the last 
day, and throughout all coming eternity ; and therefore the election, 
or purpose to discriminate, was approved by infinite wisdom, in the 
counsels of eternity past. When we object to the act, or the 
purpose, we presume to be wiser than God. 

From the views which have been presented, it necessarily follows, 
that election is not on the ground of foreseen faith or obedience. 
On this point, the teachings of Scripture are clear. They are 
chosen not because of their holiness, but that they may be holy ; 4 
not because of their obedience, but unto obedience. 5 As the 
discrimination made in effectual calling is God's work, and ante- 
cedent to all holiness, faith, or acceptable obedience ; the purpose 
to discriminate could not be on the ground of acts foreseen, which 
do not exist as a consideration for the execution of the purpose. 
The discriminating grace which God bestows, is not on the ground 
of faith and obedience previously existing, but for a reason known 
only to God himself. This unrevealed reason, and not foreseen 
faith and obedience, is the ground of election. 

The Scriptures teach that election is according to the fore- 
knowledge of God. 6 We are, however, not to understand the fore- 
knowledge here mentioned, to be foreknowledge of faith or good 
works. Faith and good works do not exist, before the grace 
consequent on election begins to be bestowed; and therefore a 
foresight of them is impossible. Moreover, the objects of this 
divine foreknowledge are the persons of the elect, and not their 



1 Rom. xi. 33. 2 Eph. i. 11. 3 Acts xv. 18. 

* Eph. i. 4. 6 1 Pet. i. 2. 6 1 Pet. i. 2. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 313 

faith or good works. "Whom he foreknew, them he also did 
predestinate." 1 In this foreknowledge of persons, according to 
the Scripture use of terms, a peculiar regard to them is implied. 
It is said, "Hath God cast away his people, whom he foreknew." 2 
If simple knowledge, without any peculiar regard, were all that is 
here implied, it would be equally true that God foreknew the 
heathen nations, as well as the nation of Israel. 

This case of national election may serve also to illustrate the 
ground of election to salvation. God's choice of the Hebrew nation 
arose from a peculiar regard to them, not founded on their superi- 
ority to other nations, 3 but on his own sovereign pleasure. He 
loved them, because he would love them. So the election of grace 
is according to God's foreknowledge of his people ; a foreknow- 
ledge implying a peculiar regard not founded on any superiority in 
the objects of it, but arising from the sovereign pleasure of God. 

Election is ascribed to God the Father, redemption to God the 
Son, and sanctification to God the Holy Spirit: "Elect according 
to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of 
the Spirit, unto obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus 
Christ." 4 The Father, as sustaining the authority of the God- 
head, is represented as giving the elect to Christ in the covenant 
of grace : " Thine they were, and thou gavest them me." 5 

The choice of them was with reference to Christ, and that they 
might be given to him, and rendered accepted in him. Hence 
they are said to be " chosen in Christ." 6 The election, or setting 
of them apart to salvation, is, in Jude, attributed to God the Father, 
by the use of the word sanctify, which signifies to set apart : 
"Sanctified by God the Father." The next clause of this verse, 
" preserved in Christ Jesus," may denote that a special divine care 
is exercised over the elect, because of their covenant relation to 
Christ, even before their being called by the Holy Spirit. " Pre- 
served in Christ Jesus, and called." 

Those who are not included in the election of grace, are called, 
in Scripture, " the rest," 7 and " vessels of wrath." 8 Why they are 
not included, we are as unable to explain as why the others are 



1 Rom. viii. 29. 2 Rom. xi. 1, 2. 3 Deut. vii. 7 

4 1 Pet. i. 2. 5 John xvii. 6. 6 Eph. i. 4. 

r Rom. xi. 7. 8 Rom. ix. 22. 



311 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

included; and we are therefore compelled to refer the matter to 
the sovereignty of God, who, beyond all doubt, acts herein most 
wisely and righteously, though he has not explained to us the 
reasons of his procedure. His absolute sovereignty, in the dis- 
crimination which he makes, is expressed by Paul in these words : 
" He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy ; and whom he will 
he hardeneth." 1 The natural tendency of human depravity is 
such, that the heart grows harder under the general mercies which 
God bestows, unless he superadds to all the other benefits which 
he confers, the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit, by which the 
heart is changed. This renewing grace he gives or withholds at 
his sovereign pleasure. This sovereignty, in so bestowing mercy 
as to soften the hard heart, is unquestionably taught by the words 
just quoted, however we may interpret the phrase " he hardeneth." 
It is not necessary to understand these words as implying a posi- 
tive act of God, exerted for the purpose of producing hardness of 
heart, and directed to this end. When Paul speaks of the vessels 
of mercy, he says that God hath " afore prepared" them for glory ; 
but when he speaks of the vessels of wrath, as fitted for destruction, 
he does not say that God has fitted them for this end. 2 As the 
potter, out of the same mass, makes one vessel to honor and another 
to dishonor ; 3 so God, out of the same mass of mankind, prepares 
some for glory, as vessels of mercy ; while others, whatever benefits 
they may receive from him, being left without renewing grace, 
abuse the mercies which he bestows, and, growing harder by the 
influence of their natural depravity, are vessels of wrath fitted 
for destruction. 

Divines have used the term "reprobate" as equivalent to " non- 
elect ;" but this is not the Scripture use of the term. Paul says, 
"Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith, prove your 
own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ 
is in you, except ye be reprobates? 4 Here all are regarded as 
reprobates in whom Christ does not dwell by faith ; and, of con- 
sequence, the elect themselves are reprobates so long as they 
remain in unbelief. Reprobation, as a positive act of God, is no 
other than the condemnation under which all unbelievers lie. 



1 Rom. ix. 18. 2 Rom. ix. 22, 23. 

8 Rom. ix. 21. * 2 Cor. xiii. 5. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 315 

From a state of condemnation, God, according to his purpose 
in election, delivers some by his renewing grace, and this is no 
injury or disadvantage done to the rest. 

The doctrine of election is generally opposed by unrenewed men : 
and even in the minds of those whose hearts have been renewed 
by grace, such objections to it often arise as to prevent the cordial 
reception of it. The most common of these objections it will be 
proper here to consider. 

Obj. 1. The doctrine of election offers no inducement to human 
effort. Under the belief of it men conclude that, if elected, they 
will be saved, do what they will ; and if not elected, they will be 
damned, do what they can. Hence they decide that all effort on 
their part is useless, and that it will be as well to live as they 
please, and dismiss all concern about their destiny, over which they 
can have no control. 

That some men, who profess to believe the doctrine of election, 
make a bad use of it, cannot be denied ; but it cannot be affirmed 
that all who receive the doctrine reason or act in the manner 
stated in the objection. On the contrary, multitudes, eminent for 
holiness of life and self-denying labors in the cause of Christ, not 
only cordially receive the doctrine, but ascribe all their holiness 
and self-denying labors to that grace which they have received 
from God's electing love. Many who reject and hate the doctrine, 
determine to live as they please, and to give themselves no concern 
for the things of God and religion : and the same cause will pro- 
duce the same effect, in unregenerate men who admit the doctrine, 
and pervert it by their carnal reasonings to a use to which it has 
no legitimate tendency. 

This objection to election applies equally to every part of the 
divine purpose, and proceeds on the supposition that God has pre- 
determined the end without reference to the means by which it is 
to be accomplished. God has his purpose in providence, as well 
as in grace ; and works all things in each department of his opera- 
tions, after the counsel of his own will : but no wise man will say, 
" If I am to have a crop, I shall have it, whether I plough and 
sow, or not ; and therefore I need not labor, or give myself con- 
cern to obtain bread to eat." The purpose of God leaves men 
at equal liberty, and gives them equal encouragement to labor for 
the meat that perisheth not, as for that which perisheth. God's 



816 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

purpose does not sever the connection between the means and the 
end, but establishes it ; and there is nothing, in a proper view of 
God's sovereignty, whether in providence or in grace, to induce 
the belief that the end may be obtained without the use of the 
appropriate means ; or that the end need be despaired of if the 
appropriate means be used. The word of God assures us, that " he 
who believes in Christ shall be saved, and he who believes not shall 
be damned ;" and there is nothing in God's purpose, or in a proper 
view of his purpose, to annul these declarations of his word. The 
purpose of God determines his own action ; but his revealed word 
is the rule of ours ; and if we so act as to have his promise on our 
side, we may be sure that his purpose also will be on our side : but 
his purpose cannot secure the salvation of any who remain in im- 
penitence and unbelief, and under the condemnation of his re- 
vealed word. 

It is true, however, that election discourages such human effort 
as is made in a wrong direction. It prostrates all human hope at 
the feet of a Sovereign God, and teaches the prayer, " Lord, if 
thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." It discountenances all 
effort to save ourselves by our own works of righteousness ; but 
brings the sinner to commit himself at once to the sovereign mercy 
of God. He who, knowing himself to be condemned and helpless, 
gives himself, from the heart, into the hands of God as a sovereign, 
and trusts entirely to his grace for salvation, will find no reason to 
prefer that this grace should be conferred according to some pres- 
ent determination of the divine mind, rather than according to the 
counsel of eternal wisdom. The objection to the latte$, if thor- 
oughly analyzed, will be found to contain in it some lurking idea 
that it is safer to trust in something else than in God's absolute 
mercy. As such lurking trust is dangerous to the soul, the doc- 
trine of election has a salutary tendency to deliver us from it. It 
tends to produce precisely that trust in God, that complete sur- 
render of ourselves to him, to which alone the promise of eternal 
life is made ; and if we reject the doctrine, we ought to consider 
whether we do not, at the same time, reject our only hope of life 
everlasting. 

Obj. 2. The doctrine of election is unfavorable to the interests 
of morality. If men believe that God has appointed them to sal- 
vation or damnation, at his own pleasure, without regard to their 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 317 

■works, the motive to good works which is drawn from the expec- 
tation of future reward or punishment, will cease to influence 
them. 

At the last day men will be judged according to their works. 
God's choice of men to holiness and obedience, and the grace 
bestowed on them to render them holy and obedient, do not change 
the rule by which the final judgment will be pronounced : they, 
therefore, leave the expectation of future retribution to have its 
full effect on the minds of men. No one will be condemned at the 
mere pleasure of God ; but every sentence of condemnation will 
be for sins committed. Hence the fear of future punishment 
ought to deter men from the commission of sin. None have a 
right to expect acceptance in the great day who do not, in the 
present life, serve God in sincerity and with persevering constancy. 
A belief that God, by his grace, inclines some men to serve him, 
and that he determined, from eternity, to bestow this grace upon 
them, cannot diminish, in any well-disposed mind, the proper in- 
fluence arising from the expectation of future retribution, or pro- 
duce indifference to the claims of morality. In electing men to 
salvation, God has devised no method of accomplishing his gracious 
purpose respecting them, but by rendering them holy and obedient ; 
and therefore the doctrine of election teaches the indispensable 
necessity of holiness and obedience, in order to salvation. The 
doctrine is perverted and abused when men take occasion from it 
to indulge in sin. 

Obj. 3. The doctrine of election represents God as partial, and 
is, therefore, inconsistent with the Scripture, which teaches that 
" The wisdom which is from above, is without partiality." 1 

The wisdom from above, which James declares to be without 
partiality, dwells in the minds of Christian men, and is exercised 
in their intercourse with mankind. It does not incline or require 
them to feel equal affection toward all, or to do good equally to all. 
Within the limits of justice, it requires that every man shall have 
his due ; and here, all partiality is injustice. In the department 
of benevolence, the Christian man is not bound to bestow his favors 
with equality, on all his fellow creatures. The wisdom from above 
guides him, in the distribution of his favors, by other rules. So 

1 James iii. 17. 



318 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

God, the source of this wisdom, is without partiality in the dispen- 
sation of his justice; but, in bestowing his grace, he acts as a 
sovereign, and claims and exercises the right to do what he will 
with his own. Partiality in a judge, when professing to administer 
justice, is a great wrong ; but the same judge may bestow special 
favor on his children, or near friends, or on chosen objects of 
charity, without any just imputation of wrong ; and to charge God 
with partiality, because he bestows his favors as he pleases, is to 
pour contempt on his sovereignty, and covertly to deny his right 
to do what he will with his own. He may well say to man who 
makes this charge: "Is thine eye evil, because I am good?" 

Obj. 4. The doctrine of election represents God as a respecter 
of persons ; but Peter affirmed that " God is not a respecter of 
persons." 1 

The same phrase has different significations, according to the 
connection in which it is used. We may affirm that God is, in one 
sense of the phrase, a respecter of persons, for his word states, that 
" he had respect unto Abel and his offering." 2 The first Christians 
were taught, not to have respect of persons, by giving superior 
places, in their religious assemblies, to those who were rich, and 
wore gay clothing. 3 The Hebrew judges were required not to have 
respect of persons, by favoring any one in his cause. 4 In this 
objectionable sense, God is not a respecter of persons. Before him, 
the rich and great of the earth are as nothing : yet he has respect 
to his saints, however humble and despised among men. When 
Peter affirmed that God is not a respecter of persons, he was 
addressing the first company of uncircumcised persons to whom 
the Gospel was preached ; and his words manifestly imported the 
equal admission of Gentiles with Jews, to . the privileges and 
blessings of the Gospel. " God is not a respecter of persons ; but 
in every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, 
is accepted with him." 5 The words express nothing contrary to 
what Peter elsewhere says : " Ye are a chosen generation, a royal 
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show 
forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into 
his marvellous light." 6 

1 Acts x. 34. 2 Gen. iv. 4. 8 James ii. 3. 

* Lev. xix. 15. 5 Acts x. 34, 35. 6 1 Pet. ii. 9. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 319 

Obj. 5. The doctrine of election represents God as insincere. 
He invites all men to participate in the blessings of the gospel ; 
and yet, if this doctrine is true, the blessings of the gospel are 
not designed for all. 

If God's word teaches the doctrine of election, and if it contains 
commands or invitations to all men to seek salvation through 
Christ, it is highly presumptuous in us to charge God with insin- 
cerity, because we cannot reconcile the two things with each other. 
We ought to remember that we are worms of the dust, and that it 
is criminal arrogance in us to judge and condemn the infinite God. 
But, in truth, there is no ground whatever for this charge of 
insincerity. God requires all men to believe in Christ ; and this is 
their duty, however unwilling they may be to perform it. The 
fact that they are unwilling, and that God knows they will remain 
unwilling, unless he change their hearts, abates nothing from the 
sincerity of the requirement. God proves his sincerity, by holding 
them to the obligation, and condemning their unbelief. He promises 
salvation to all who believe in Christ ; and he proves his sincerity, 
by fulfilling his promise in every instance. The bestowment of 
special grace, changing the hearts of men, and bringing them to 
believe in Christ, is, in no respect, inconsistent with any require- 
ment or promise that God has made. While men regard the call 
of the gospel as an invitation which they may receive or reject at 
pleasure, it accords with their state of mind to institute the inquiry, 
whether God is sincere in offering this invitation : but when they 
regard it as a solemn requirement of duty, for which God will 
certainly hold them accountable, they will find no occasion for 
calling his sincerity in question. 

Obj. 6. The doctrine of election confines the benevolence of 
God to a part of the human race ; but the Scriptures teach, that 
" the Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his 
works." 1 

God is kind to the unthankful and evil, and bestows blessings 
on the just and the unjust ; but his benevolence, though infinite, 
does not produce in every one of his creatures the highest degree 
of happiness. The world which we inhabit abounds with misery, 
and the Scriptures have warned us, that there is a world of 

1 Ps. cxlv. 9. 



320 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

unmitigated torment, into which wicked men will be driven, to be 
punished for their sins, with the devil and his angels. The justice 
of God limits the exercise of his benevolence ; and, if we deny the 
doctrine of election, it still remains true, that the benevolence of 
God will effect the salvation of a part only of the human race. 
Now, unless it can be shown that the election of grace lessens the 
number of the saved, no objection can lie against it, on the ground 
of its relation to God's benevolence. Paul did not regard it as 
lessening the divine benevolence. According to bis view of the 
subject, all Israel would have been cast away, had not God reserved 
a remnant according to the election of grace. 1 What was true of 
this nation, is true of all other nations. There are causes, apart 
from election, which intercept the flow of God's benevolence to 
sinful men : and election, instead of increasing the obstacles, opens 
the channel in which the mercy of God can flow, to bless and save 
the lost. 

Obj. 7. The doctrine of election, by teaching that God has 
reprobated a part of the human race to hopeless misery, represents 
him as an unamiable being. 

Sinful men are indeed reprobated, not by the election of grace, 
but by the justice of God ; but their reprobation is not hopeless, so 
long as the gospel of salvation sounds in their ears. But the only 
hope on which they are authorized to lay hold, springs from the 
electing love of God. Instead of covering men's prospects with 
the blackness of darkness, the doctrine of election sends a ray of 
hope, the only possible ray, to enlighten the gloom. 

The justice of God will hereafter doom the finally impenitent, as 
it has already doomed the fallen angels, to hopeless misery. The 
unamiable feature, which the objection we are considering finds in 
the divine character, is the justice so horrible to the workers of 
iniquity. The election of grace, if it wholly annihilated the justice 
of God, would receive the praises of unconverted men ; but it 
cannot do this. The infinite benevolence of God cannot do this. 
If men will pronounce the character of God unamiable, because he 
is just, and dooms sinful beings to hopeless misery, they prove 
thereby that they do not love the God whom the Scriptures reveal, 
and by whom they are to be judged. Their quarrel with the 

1 Rom. xi. 2-5. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 321 

doctrine of election is, in truth, a quarrel with the justice of God, 
from which that election has not delivered them. 

Of the laborers in the vineyard, who received every man his 
penny, they who had borne the heat and burden of the day, com- 
plained that those who had labored but one hour, received equal 
wages with them. The occasion for this complaint would not have 
existed, if no one had received more than was due to him, in strict 
justice, according to the amount of service rendered. So, if all 
grace were withheld from the human race, and every one received 
from God what his deeds in strict justice deserve, no occasion would 
exist for the objection which is urged against God's election. But, 
would men be better off? or would God be more amiable? The 
lord in the parable met the objection thus : " Friend, I do thee no 
wrong. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own ? 
Is thine eye evil, because I am good?" 1 We are taught hereby 
how to silence objections to the sovereignty of divine grace. "While 
God does wrong to no man, though he does as he will with his 
own, it becomes us to bow to his sovereignty, and acknowledge him 
infinitely amiable in all his perfections. 

Not content with the God whom the Bible reveals, and who does 
according to his pleasure in the army of heaven, and among the 
inhabitants of the earth, we carve out to ourselves a deity more 
amiable, in our view, than he. If we dare not strip him of his jus- 
tice, and secure thereby the salvation of all men, we endeavor to 
devise for him a method of salvation less exposed to human cavil. 
We aim to free him from the responsibility of determining who 
shall be saved ; and we form the plan, and fix the terms of salva- 
tion, with the design of rendering the result contingent on the 
actions of men. Our method of grace, we admit, will not secure 
the salvation of all men. If the infinitely wise God should adopt 
it, he would foreknow all its results, and precisely how many per- 
sons, and what persons, would finally be saved by it. Now, if he 
should make our plan his own, with this foreknowledge of its 
results, it would then be his plan, fixing as definitely the salvation 
of those who will be saved, as the plan on which he at present 
proceeds, and equally leaving the residue of mankind to the awful 
doom to which his justice will consign them. Our preferred plan 

1 Matt. xx. 13, 15. 
21 



322 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

may accord better with the views of finite worms, like ourselves, 
who know not the end from the beginning ; but if God should 
adopt it, he would be responsible for it, in all its workings, to the 
final issue : responsible, though not to any other being, yet to him- 
self ; for his acts must accord with his perfections, and must receive 
his own approbation. In selecting his present plan, he has chosen 
it with a full knowledge of all its results. As the plan is his 
chosen plan, so the people whom it will save are his chosen people. 
We must prove that our plan would be better, before we can main- 
tain that the deity of our imagination would be more amiable than 
the God of the Bible. 

Every proposed method of salvation that leaves the issue de- 
pendent on human volition, is defective. It has been always found, 
that men will not come to Christ for life. The gospel is preached 
to every creature ; but all, with one consent, ask to be excused. 
The will of men must be changed ; and this change the will itself 
cannot effect. Divine grace must here interpose. Unless God 
work in the sinner to will and to do, salvation is impossible. God 
knows the force of opposition which his grace will encounter in 
each heart, and the amount of spiritual influence necessary to 
overcome it. He gives or withholds that influence at his pleasure. 
He has his own. rule of acting in this matter — a rule infinitely 
wise and good. With full knowledge how his rule will affect every 
particular case, he perseveres in acting according to it, however men 
may cavil : and the rule which infinite wisdom adopts must be the 
best ; nor can it be any objection to it, that infinite wisdom knows 
perfectly its final result. 

Obj. 8. The doctrine of election does not recommend itself to 
the general acceptance of mankind ; but is received only by those 
who believe themselves to be in the number of the elect ; and who 
are therefore interested judges. 

The truth or falsehood of a religious doctrine cannot be deter- 
mined by the acceptance which it obtains among men. What God 
says, is true, whether men receive or reject it. The gospel, which 
is preached on the authority of God's truth, is rejected by a large 
part of mankind ; and those who do receive it are exposed to the 
charge of being interested judges, because they expect God's bless- 
ing through their belief of it. All that the objection says of elec- 
tion is true of the gospel. It does not prove the gospel untrue ; 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 328 

and it ought not, in the least degree, to impair and weaken our 
faith in the doctrine of election. 

According to God's method of grace, as revealed in his holy 
word, the salvation of men is made dependent on their belief of 
the gospel. It is a test of genuine faith, that it cordially receives 
those parts of divine truth which are least acceptable to the carnal 
heart. Hence it arises, that the doctrine of election, or, which is 
the same thing, of God's sovereignty in the bestowment of his 
grace, often becomes the point at which a sinner's submission to 
God is tested. When this doctrine is cordially received, the sinner's 
rebellion against God ceases. When he yields to the sovereignty 
of God in bestowing eternal life at his pleasure, he admits that 
sovereignty in everything else. How much soever he may permit 
the monarch of the universe to do what he pleases in smaller matters, 
if he refuses to yield to his sovereignty in the matter of highest 
importance, his submission to God is partial, and the spirit of re- 
bellion has not departed. 

Many examples of Christian experience might be adduced, in 
which a submission to God's sovereignty in bestowing the blessings 
of grace, became the deciding point of a sinner's acceptance of 
Christ. 

Though the objection which we have considered contains no 
valid argument against the doctrine of election, it may suggest an 
important lesson to those who admit this doctrine. into their creed. 
If men, as interested judges, decide in favor of the doctrine, and 
regard it with pleasure merely because they suppose themselves to 
be among the favorites of heaven, their faith will be unavailing. 
No submission to God is implied in our approving of his supposed 
favoritism toward us. The gospel calls on every sinner to give 
himself up, through Christ, into the hands of his offended sov- 
ereign ; and to do this as a guilty creature, and not as a supposed 
favorite of Heaven. In this complete surrender, the heart becomes 
fully reconciled to the doctrine of election. 



324 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 



Section II.— PARTICULAR REDEMPTION. 

The Son of God gave his life to redeem those who were 
given to him by the father in the covenant of grace. 1 

The Scriptures teach that the Son of God, in coming into the 
world and laying down his life, had the salvation of a peculiar 
people in view : " Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save 
his people from their sins." 2 " The good Shepherd giveth his life 
for the sheep." 3 " Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also 
loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify 
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he 
might present it to himself a glorious church." 4 The Scriptures 
also teach that the expectation of the Redeemer will be fully real- 
ized, and that not one of all whom the Father gave him will fail 
to be saved : "He shall see his seed. He shall see of the travail 
of his soul and be satisfied." 5 "All that the Father giveth me, 
shall come to me ; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast 
out." "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of 
all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise 
it up again at the last day." 6 " Father, I will that they also, whom 
thou hast given me, be with me where I am." 7 

And finally, when all shall be congregated, he will say, " Behold, 
I, and the children which God has given me." 8 In presenting to 
the Father all who had been given to him, in the covenant of grace, 
to be redeemed out of every kindred, tongue, nation, and people, 
the Saviour will have the full reward of his obedience unto death. 

Redemption will not be universal in its consummation; for 
the redeemed will be out of every kindred, tongue, nation, and 
people ; 9 and therefore cannot include all in any of these divisions 
of mankind. And redemption cannot have been universal in its 
purpose ; otherwise the purpose will fail to be accomplished, and 
all, for which the work of redemption was undertaken, will not be 
effected. 



1 Eph. v. 25-27 ; Tit. ii. 14 ; John x. 11 ; Rev. i. 5, 6 ; Acts xx. 28 ; Heb. x. 
14 ; Isaiah liii. 5, 11. 

2 Matt. i. 21. 8 John x. 11. * Eph. v. 25-27. 
6 Isaiah liii. 10, 11. 6 John vi. 37, 39. 7 John xvii. 24. 
8 Heb. ii. 13. 9 Rev. v. 9. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 325 

Besides God's will of purpose, we have seen that he has a will of 
precept. According to the latter, he commands all men every- 
where to repent ; he requires all to believe in Jesus Christ ; and 
it is his will that all men should honor the Son. To all who obey 
his will in these particulars, he gives the promise of eternal life. 
The precept and the promise are both included in the revealed will 
of God. It is the revealed will of God that the gospel should be 
preached to every creature, and that every creature who hears 
should believe, and that all who believe shall receive life everlast- 
ing. The revealed will is the rule of our faith, duty, and hope ; and 
by it those who preach the gospel, and those who hear it, are 
authorised and bound to regulate every thought and action. In it, 
Christ is exhibited as the Saviour of the world j 1 the only name under 
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved f and sinners, 
without exception, are invited and commanded to believe in Christ. 
As the gospel is preached to all men without distinction, and all 
are called upon to come to Christ for life ; and nothing but man's 
rejection of the gospel prevents the extension of its blessing to 
all who hear it ; it accords with the design of God's revealed 
word, to speak of the offices and work of Christ, according to 
men's obligations respecting them. It must be remembered, how- 
ever, that the gospel promises its blessings to those only who obey 
it ; and, as the promise, not the precept, is the proper measure of 
the benefits which it secures, its benefits are limited to particular 
persons, even when the limitation in its extent does not appear 
in the language employed. Christ is called the Saviour of the 
world, 3 the propitiation 4 for the sins of the whole world ; and the 
free gift through him is said to come on all men unto justification 
of life. 5 These, and other like expressions of Scripture, represent 
the facts as they would be, on the supposition that all men did 
their duty. But notwithstanding these general expressions, the 
revealed will of God secures blessings only to the obedient, and is 
therefore narrower in its limit than the purpose or secret will of 
God, which not only provides all needed grace for the obedient, but 
also, for all the elect, the grace necessary to render them obedient. 

The remarks which have been made may suffice to show that 

1 John iv. 42. • 2 Acts iv. 12. 8 John iv. 42. 

4 1 John ii. 2. 5 Rom. v. 18. 



326 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

redemption is not universal, in any view which can properly be 
taken of it. It is particular in its consummation, and in its 
purpose ; and it is equally so in the revelation of it, which is made 
in the gospel. The general terms " all men," " the whole world," 
&c, which the Scriptures employ in speaking of its extent, cannot 
be' understood to secure its benefits to the impenitent and unbeliev- 
ing. According to God's secret will, or will of purpose, redemp- 
tion is secured by the death of Christ to all the elect ; according 
to his revealed will, it is secured to those only who believe. 

The adaptedness of Christ's death to serve as a ground for uni- 
versal gospel invitations, constitutes it in the view of some persons 
a universal redemption. But no one can with propriety be said to 
be redeemed, who does not obtain deliverance, and who never will 
obtain it. Other persons who maintain the doctrine of particular 
redemption, distinguish between redemption and atonement, and 
because of the adaptedness referred to, consider the death of 
Christ an atonement for the sins of all men ; or as an atonement 
for sin in the abstract. In Rom. v. 11, the only place in the New 
Testament where the word atonement occurs, the Greek word for 
which it stands, is the same that is rendered reconciling — reconcilia- 
tion, in other places. 1 The reconciliation is not between God and 
sin in the abstract, for such a reconciliation is impossible. It is a 
reconciliation of persons ; and such a reconciliation as secures eter- 
nal salvation. " If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to 
God, by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall 
be saved by his life." 2 In Paul's view, all those for whom Christ's 
death made reconciliation or atonement, will certainly be saved ; 
and therefore atonement cannot be universal, unless salvation be 
universal. It is possible to use the word atonement in such a sense, 
as to render the question respecting the extent of the atonement 
one of mere definition : but it is best to use the words of Scripture 
in the Scripture sense. 

In reconciling the vicariousness of Christ's death with the 
universal call of the gospel, a difficulty arises, which may be stated 
thus : — 

An unrestricted invitation to all who hear the gospel, to come 
to Christ for life, seems to imply that universal provision has been 

1 Rom. xi. 15 ; 2 Cor. v. 18, 19. 2 Rom. v. 10. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 327 

made in him ; and in order to the making of universal provision, it 
appears necessary that he should have borne the sins of all men. 

But the supposition that he bore the sins of the whole human 
race, is attended with much difficulty. Multitudes died in impeni- 
tence before he came into the world, and were suffering for their 
sins in the other world, while he was hanging on the cross. How 
could he be a substitute for these, and suffer the penalty for their 
sins, when they were suffering it in their own persons ? And if 
he endured the penalty for the sins of all who have since died, or 
shall hereafter die in impenitence, how shall they be required to 
satisfy justice a second time by personal suffering ? 

For a solution of this difficulty, with which the minds of many 
have been much perplexed, it has been supposed that the amount 
of suffering necessary to make an atoning sacrifice, is not increased 
or lessened by the amount of sin to be atoned for. This hypothesis 
is entitled to respect, not only because of the relief which it 
affords the mind, but also because it has recommended itself to 
the general acceptance of learned and pious men. Neverthe- 
less, like every other hypothesis invented for the removal of 
difficulty, it should not be made an article of faith, until it has 
been proved. 

In support of the hypothesis, it has been argued that since the 
wages of sin is death, Christ must have died for a single sin, and 
he needed only to die, in making atonement for the sins of the 
whole world. 

This argument does not sustain the hypothesis, unless it be 
assumed that death is the same in every supposable case. But 
death may be an easy and joyful transition from this world to the 
world of bliss. Such was not the death of Christ. Death, as the 
wages of sin, includes more than the mere dissolution of the body : 
and Christ, in dying for sin, endured an amount of sorrow which 
was not necessary to mere natural death. In this suffering, the 
expiatory efficacy of his death chiefly consisted; and we dare not 
assume that the amount of it must be the same in every suppos- 
able case. The sufferings of Christ derive infinite value from his 
divine nature; but, being endured by his human nature, their 
amount could not be infinite ; hence it is supposable that the 
amount might have been different in different circumstances. The 
inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah will, in the last day, be 



328 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

doomed to the second death, equally with the more guilty inhabit- 
ants of Chorazin and Bethsaida : but the anguish attendant will 
be more intolerable in one case than in the other. Analogy would 
seem to require, that Christ, suffering for the sins of the whole 
world, must endure more than if suffering for only one sin. 

The advocates of the hypothesis urge, that the atonement is 
moral, and not commercial ; and they object, that the notion of so 
much suffering for so much sin, degrades it into a mere commer- 
cial transaction. According to an illustration before given, if 
twenty men owe one hundred dollars, commercial justice is satis- 
fied when each man has paid five dollars ; but when twenty men 
have conspired to commit murder, moral justice, or rather distrib- 
utive justice (for commercial justice is also moral), holds every 
man guilty of the deed, and as deserving of capital punishment 
as if he alone had committed the crime. On the same principle, it 
is maintained, moral justice does not divide the death of Christ 
into parts, accounting so much for each offence ; but regards it as 
equally sufficient for many offences, as for one; and equally 
sufficient for the sins of the whole world, as for the sins of the 
elect. 

The argument is not conclusive. It is not true, that the princi- 
ple of distributive justice repels the notion of so much suffering 
for so much sin. Justice has its scales in government, as well as 
in commerce ; and an essential part of its administration consists 
in the apportionment of penalties to crimes. It does not account 
the stealing of herbs from a neighbor's garden, and the murder of 
a father, crimes of equal magnitude ; and it does not weigh out to 
them equal penalties. The justice of God has a heavier penalty 
for Chorazin and Bethsaida, than for Sodom and Gomorrah. 
Everything of which we have knowledge in the divine administra- 
tion, instead of exploding the notion of so much suffering for so 
much sin, tends rather to establish it. The objection that it is 
commercial, is not well founded. Though justice in government, 
and justice in commerce, may be distinguished from each other, it 
does not follow, that whatever may be affirmed of the one, must 
necessarily be denied of the other. Distributive justice is not that 
which determines the equality of value, in commodities which are 
exchanged for each other : but it does not therefore exclude all 
regard to magnitudes and proportions. In the language of Scrip- 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 329 

tura, sins are debts, 1 the blood of Christ is a, price, 2 and his people 
are bought. 3 This language is doubtless figurative : but the figures 
would not be -appropriate, if commercial justice, to which the terms 
debt, price, bought, appertain, did not bear an analogy to the dis- 
tributive justice which required the sacrifice of Christ. 

In the case adduced for illustration, every accomplice in the 
murder is held guilty of the crime, because every one has the full 
intention of it. Justice, viewing the crime in the intention, ac- 
counts each one guilty, and requires the penalty to be inflicted 
on him. It does not admit that the punishment of one will be 
equivalent to the punishment of all: but, in this very case, em- 
ploys its scales to give to every one his due, and apportions the 
amount of penalty inflicted, to the amount of crime. 

This examination of the argument discovers, that it is not con- 
clusive. If the atonement of Christ excludes all regard to the 
amount of sin to be expiated, the exclusion does not arise from the 
abstract principles of distributive justice, as distinguished from 
commercial, but from something peculiar in the great transaction. 
No transaction like it with which it may be compared, has ever 
occurred. The wisdom and justice of God have decided this single 
case, and have decided it right. Christ did endure just so much 
suffering, as would expiate the sins that were laid on him. What 
amount of suffering would have been necessary, if he had expiated 
but one sin, is a question which, so far as we know, has never been 
decided in the court of heaven. When we confidently decide it, 
we are in danger of intruding into those things which do not belong 
to us. If the Holy Scriptures teach us nothing on the subject, we 
should not seek to be wise above what is written. 

The Scriptures, so far as I know, contain no proof of the hypo- 
thesis. The best argument in its favor is drawn from Hebrews 
ix., in which it is taught that, if the sacrifices of the old dispensa- 
tion had been efficacious, they would not have needed to be re- 
peated. This seems to involve the principle, that an efficacious 
sacrifice for sin, when once made, will suffice for all sin, however 
it may be multiplied in all future time ; and this principle, if estab- 
lished, establishes the hypothesis before us. But the clause " then 
would they not have ceased to be offered," may be taken without 

1 Matt. vi. 12. 2 1 Cor. vi. 20 : 1 Pet. i. 18. 3 1 Cor. vi. 20. 



330 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

an interrogative point following, and the argument of Paul will be, 
that the sacrifices of the Old Testament dispensation, if efficacious, 
would have continued to be offered from year to year, making 
atonement for the sins of each year as it passed, and would not 
have been superseded by another covenant, as the Lord had fore- 
told by his prophet. So interpreted, the argument of Paul, instead 
of establishing the hypothesis, subverts it. But if the clause be 
read with the interrogative point, it may still be understood to 
refer to the remembrance from year to year continually of the 
same sins, that had once been atoned for. When the sins of one year 
had been atoned for, why should the very same sins be brought into 
remembrance the second, third, and fourth years, and the offering 
for them repeated, if the first offering had been efficacious ? So 
understood, the apostle's argument does not establish the principle 
involved in the hypothesis. 

If, after a thorough examination of the hypothesis, we should, 
instead of making it an article of faith, be inclined to abandon it ; 
and if the difficulty which it was invented to remove should perplex 
us ; we may obtain relief, as^we are compelled to do in other cases, 
by receiving the whole of God's truth on his authority, even though 
the harmony of its parts is not apparent to our weak understand- 
ings. In this way, theological difficulties furnish an opportunity 
for the exercise of confidence in the divine veracity : and our state 
of mind is never better or safer than when, in simple faith, we 
take God at his word. 

So far as we have the means of judging, the sufferings of Christ, 
when viewed apart from the purpose of God respecting them, were 
in themselves as well adapted to satisfy for the sins of Judas as of 
Peter. But we cannot affirm this of every act which Christ per- 
formed in his priestly office. His intercessions for Peter were par- 
ticular and efficacious ; and these, as a part of his priestly work, 
may be included with his sufferings, as constituting with them the 
perfect and acceptable offering which he, as the great High Priest, 
makes for his people. The atonement or reconciliation which 
results, must be as particular as the intercessions by which it is 
procured. 

Some have maintained that, if the atonement of Christ is not 
general, no sinner can be under obligation to believe in Christ, 



SOVEREIGNTY OE GRACE. 331 

until he is assured that he is one of the elect. This implies tfhat 
no Dinner is bound to believe what God says, unless he knows that 
God designs to save him. God declares that there is no salvation, 
except through Christ ; and every sinner is bound to believe this 
truth. If it were revealed from heaven, that but one sinner, of all 
our fallen race, shall be saved by Christ, the obligation to believe* 
that there is no salvation out of Christ, would remain the same. 
Every sinner, to whom the revelation would be made, would be 
bound to look to Christ as his only possible hope, and commit him- 
self to that sovereign mercy by which some one of the justly con- 
demned race would be saved. The abundant mercy of our God 
will not be confined to the salvation of a single sinner ; but it will 
bring' many sons to glory through the sufferings of Jesus, the Cap- 
tain of our salvation. Yet every sinner, who trusts in Christ for 
salvation, is bound to commit himself, unreservedly, to the sovereign 
mercy of God. If he requires some previous assurance that he is 
in the number of the elect, he does not surrender himself to God, 
as a guilty sinner ought. The gospel brings every sinner prostrate 
at the feet of the Great Sovereign, hoping for mercy at his will, 
and in his way : and the gospel is perverted when any terms short 
of this are offered to the offender. With this universal call to 
absolute and unconditional surrender to God's sovereignty, the 
doctrine of particular redemption exactly harmonizes. 



Section III. — EFFECTUAL CALLING. 

The Holy Spirit effectually calls all the elect to repent 
and believe. 1 

The gospel calls all who hear it to repent and believe. This 
call proceeds from the Holy Spirit, who qualifies the ministers of 
the gospel for their work, and gives them the written word. But 
men resist and disobey this call of the Spirit, and remain under 
condemnation. "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your 
fathers did, so do ye." "Which of the prophets have not your 

1 John vi. 37 ; Rom. viii. 26, 30 ; 1 Cor. i. 24 ; 2 Tim. i. 9 ; 1 Pet. ii. 9 ; Jude 
1, 2 ; 1 Cor. ii. 4 ; 1 The'ss. i. ^6. 



332 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

fathers persecuted?" 1 "He shall be revealed, taking vengeance 
on all them that obey not the gospel." 2 

Besides the call which is external, and often ineffectual, there is 
another, which is internal and effectual. This always produces 
repentance and faith, and therefore secures salvation. The former 
external call is intended in such passages of Scripture as the fol- 
lowing : "Because I have called, and ye refused." 3 "Many be 
called, but few chosen." 4 The internal and effectual call is de- 
signed in the following passages : " Who hath saved us, and called 
us with a holy calling." 5 "Whom he predestinated, them he 
also called; whom he called, them he also justified." 6 " Called 
to be saints." 7 " Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus 
Christ." 8 " To them who love God, who are the called according to 
his purpose." 9 It is not true of all who receive the external call, 
that they are predestinated to life, justified and saved. Whenever 
these blessings are represented as belonging to the called, the 
internal and effectual call must be meant. 

We have before distinguished between the direct and the indirect 
influence of the Holy Spirit. The external call being by means of 
the written or preached word, belongs to the indirect influence of 
the Spirit. To render this call effectual, the direct influence is 
superadded ; and the gospel is then said to come, not in word only, 10 
but in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. 11 The external 
call is disobeyed, because men will not come to Christ that ihey 
may have life : the internal call operates on the will itself, working 
in men to will and to do, and rendering God's people willing in 
the day of his power. As distinguished from the external call, the 
internal is always unresisted. In the process of conversion, the 
Holy Spirit is violently resisted ; but this resistance is directed 
against the outward means. The internal grace softens and sub- 
dues the heart, and brings it into peaceful subjection to the gospel 
of Christ. 

The internal grace, which renders the outward call effectual, is 
the grace of regeneration. Hence regeneration, considered as the 

1 Acts vii. 51, 52. 2 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. 3 Prov. i. 24, 

4 Matt. xx. 16. 5 2 Tim. i. 9. 6 Eom. viii. 30. 

7 Rom. i. 7. 8 Rom. i. 6. 9 Rom. viii. 28. 

10 1 Thess. i. 5. » 1 Cor. ii. 4. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 333 

work of the Holy Spirit, is the same as effectual calling ; considered 
as the change of the sinner's heart, it is the effect of this calling. 
The calling is effectual, because it produces regeneration in the 
subject on whom it operates. 

In effectual calling, the Holy Spirit displays his omnipotence. 
" We believe according to the working of his mighty power, which 
he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead." 1 The 
same power which created the world, and said, " Let there be light, 
and there was light," is needed in the new creation of the sinner. 
" God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath 
shined in our hearts." 2 "We are his workmanship, created in 
Christ Jesus unto good works." 3 "According as his divine 
power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and god- 
liness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory 
and virtue." 4 His power in creating the world was unresisted; 
and equally unresisted is the power by which he new-creates the 
heart. The outward means which the Spirit sends may be resisted ; 
but when the Spirit himself comes in the omnipotence of his grace, 
resistance vanishes. 

In effectual calling, the Holy Spirit acts as a sovereign. In 
bestowing the various gifts which he conferred on the ancient 
Christians, he acted as a sovereign: "All these worketh that one 
and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." 5 
He is equally sovereign in giving regenerating grace. " Of his 
own will begat he us with the word of truth." 6 Grace is sovereign 
in election by the Father, redemption by the Son, and effectual 
calling by the Holy Spirit. The discrimination which grace makes 
among the children of men, first appears in effectual calling. This 
work of the Holy Spirit leads up, through the redemption of Jesus 
Christ, to God the Father, to whose electing love we are taught to 
ascribe all the blessings of eternal salvation. In this reverse order 
we look back, along the stream of mercy, to the fountain from 
which it flows. This reverse order is observed in the precept, 
"Make your calling and election sure." 7 Our calling proceeds 

1 Eph. i. 19, 20. 2 2 Cor. it. 6. 3 Eph. ii. 10. 

* 2 Pet. i. 3. 5 1 Cor. xii. 11. 6 James i. 18. 

* 2 Pet. i. 10. 



334 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

from our election ; but we ascertain our election by first ascertain- 
ing our calling. 

In effectual calling, the Holy Spirit operates on the elect. These 
are " sanctified by God the Father, preserved in Christ Jesus, and 
called." 1 They whom the Spirit calls are " chosen in Christ from 
the foundation of the, world." 2 "As many as were ordained to 
eternal life believed." 3 The Spirit's effectual calling fulfils the 
word of Christ, " All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me." 4 
" Other sheep have I, which are not of this fold ; them also I must 
bring." 5 

It has been asked, for what purpose does God send his outward 
call to the non-elect, since it will be ineffectual, unless accompanied 
with his omnipotent grace. We might as well ask for what purpose 
does God give men his law, when they will not obey it ; or why 
does he institute a moral government over them, when they will 
not submit to it. Instead of demanding God's reasons for what 
he does, it becomes every man rather to inquire, what reason he 
can render to God, for violating his holy law, and rejecting the 
call of his gospel. We may be sure that God will do right, and 
will be able to vindicate his ways before the intelligent universe ; 
and we should regard our propensity to call in question the wisdom 
and righteousness of his procedure, as an alarming evidence of our 
want of submission to his will. 

Objection. If repentance and faith are gifts of grace bestowed 
by the Holy Spirit in effectual calling, men on whom this grace is 
not conferred, are not blameworthy for being impenitent and 
unbelieving. 

The objection virtually assumes, that men are under no obliga- 
tion to serve God further than they please ; or that if their unwil- 
lingness to serve him can be overcome by nothing less than omni- 
potent grace, it excuses their disobedience. Let the man who 
makes to himself this apology for his impenitence and unbelief, 
consider well, with what face he can present his plea before the 
great Judge. " I did not serve God, because I was wholly unwill- 
ing to serve him ; and so exceedingly unwilling that nothing less 



1 Jude 1. 2 Eph. i. 4-13 3 Acts xiii. 48. 

4 John vi. 37. 6 John x. 16. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 385 

than omnipotent grace could reconcile me to the hated service." 
Who will dare offer this plea on the great day ? 

The efficacious grace which renders the gospel successful, is the 
grand peculiarity of the gospel dispensation. 

This grace was bestowed in a smaller measure, before the com- 
ing of Christ, and during his personal ministry ; but the abundant 
outpouring of it was reserved for the Pentecost that followed the 
Saviour's ascension, and the times succeeding. The apostles were 
commanded to remain in Jerusalem, until they were endued with 
power from on high, and the power of the Holy Spirit which fell on 
them rendered their preaching far more successful than the minis- 
try of Christ himself had been. Had God bound himself, by rule, 
to give an equal measure of grace to every human being, and to 
leave the result to the unaided volitions of men, the extraordinary 
success which marked the first period of Christianity would not 
have existed. It must be ascribed to the efficacious grace of the 
Holy Spirit, whom the Saviour promised to send after he should 
go to the Father. To the power of the Spirit, the success of the 
word, in all ages, must be attributed : and the glorious millennial 
day so long expected by the church will not come, until the Spirit 
be poured out from on high. 1 Hence, all good men looking for- 
ward to this glorious day, have not relied for its coming on the 
superior morality and religious tendency of future generations y but 
have prayed for it and have hoped for success, only through the 
abundant influence of the Holy Spirit. • 



CONCLUSION. 



Our Saviour frequently rebuked those who trusted in themselves 
that they were righteous, and despised others. This self-righteous 
temper prevailed in the sect of the Pharisees ; and Paul, who was 
a Pharisee, was obliged to renounce it, when he became a follower 
of Christ. He then prayed to be found, not having his own 
righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith. In 

1 Isaiah xxxii. 15. 



386 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

his strong desire and earnest prayer for the salvation of his 
countrymen, the Jews, he regarded it as their great and fatal 
error, that, " being ignorant of God's righteousness, they went 
about to establish their own righteousness." 

Self-righteousness is offensive to God. The king, in the parable, 
was displeased, because one of the guests appeared at the marriage, 
not having on a wedding garment. But when we array ourselves 
in our own righteousness of filthy rags, and present ourselves in 
the assembly of the saints, before the God of holiness, and claim 
his approbation and smile, because we are thus arrayed, we offer 
insult to the King Supreme. We evince that we have no right 
appreciation of his holiness and justice : and while we profess to 
honor him as God, we so degrade his moral perfections as to make 
him altogether such an one as ourselves. This temper of mind 
rejects the mediation and righteousness of Christ, and thereby sets 
at nought the counsel of God, in the great scheme of salvation. 
The Father is well pleased with the Son, for his righteousness' sake ; 
and he cannot be well pleased with those who despise that righteous- 
ness, and choose to appear in their own. 

Self-righteousness is ruinous to the soul. It may be highly 
esteemed among men ; for the Pharisees, who loved the praise of 
men more than the praise of God, obtained their reward, in being 
honored for their great sanctity. But God searches the heart, and 
in his view the outward sanctity avails nothing, while all within 
is rottenness. Yet the disguise cheats mankind, and cheats him 
who wears it. Blindly and stupidly trusting to his own righteous- 
ness, he is at ease, and cries Peace, Peace, until sudden destruction 
comes upon him. It is one of Satan's most successful artifices, to 
lull men to sleep in their own righteousness. Many who have 
been alarmed by a view of their outward sins, have reformed their 
lives ; and, relying on their morality, have, without any heart- 
religion, without any true faith in Christ, fatally dreamed their 
life away in the vain hope that all will be well at last. So difficult 
is it to rouse men from this delusion, that publicans and harlots 
entered into the kingdom of heaven before the self-righteous 
Pharisees. 1 

The doctrine of grace is the remedy for self-righteousness. It 

1 Matt. xxi. 31. 



SOVEREIGNTY OF GRACE. 337 

is a remedy which the unholy heart greatly dislikes, but if once 
received, it proves an effectual antidote to the evil. It slays all 
self-dependence, and lays the guilty sinner prostrate at the feet of 
mercy. He turns from his own righteousness, as from his sins, 
with loathing and abhorrence, and pleads, and trusts, and hopes 
for mercy only for the sake of Christ. In this method of salvation 
there is no compromise with the self-righteous spirit ; no reliance 
is admitted either on absolute merit, or on comparative merit. 
Every one is required to come to Christ, as most guilty and vile, 
and to seek mercy as the chief of sinners. He must bring no plea 
that he is more worthy, or less unworthy than his neighbor. So 
long as he relies on such a plea, the door of mercy is shut against 
him. He is taught to receive salvation as a free gift, absolutely 
free, without money and without price. 

The doctrine of grace completely excludes all human boasting 
This was Paul's view of it. " Where is boasting then ? It is ex- 
cluded. By what law? Works? Nay, but by the law of faith." 1 
Its tendency to humble men before God, and teach them to glory 
in the Lord alone, is an excellence which the inspired apostle 
highly prized. This endeared the doctrine to him, and should 
endear it to us. We are prone to think of ourselves above what 
we ought to think : but we have the means at hand for humbling 
our pride, in the interrogatory, " Who made thee to differ from 
another? and what hast thou, that thou didst not receive?" 2 

This doctrine presents the strongest motive to holiness. It has 
been charged against it, that it leads to licentiousness ; and this 
charge is as old as the days of the apostles. It was then asked, 
" Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound ?" 3 and it was 
falsely asserted that they taught, " Let us do evil, that good may 
come." 4 If, in advocating this doctrine, we meet with similar 
charges, we may rejoice in the proof thus furnished, that we stand 
on apostolic ground. But the whole charge is without foundation. 
Men may be self-righteous Pharisees, and, at the same time, live in 
urn; but when self-righteousness is destroyed by the Spirit of grace, 
the man becomes dead, not only to the law, but also to sin, and, 
being dead to sin, he can live no longer therein. Men. may, in a 

1 Rom. iii. 27.. 2 1 Cor. iv. 7. 

3 Rom. vi. 1. * Rom. iii. 8. 

22 



838 DOCTRINE CONCERNING DIVINE GRACE. 

self-righteous spirit, abstain from sin, while they love it. But the 
doctrine of grace, when received into the heart, destroys the very 
love of sin. A sense of obligation for free and unmerited mercy, 
occupies the heart, and constrains to holy obedience. 

This doctrine is honorable to God. All flesh is humbled before 
him, and he alone is exalted. The cross of Christ is elevated ; 
and men are attracted to it, and taught to glory in it alone. The 
full salvation, as it comes forth from the triune God, in its com- 
pleteness, and perfect adaptedness to our wretched and lost condi- 
tion, becomes the object of our admiring delight, and calls forth 
our joyful ascriptions of praise. 

This doctrine unites the people of God. All come to Christ on 
the same level. The rich, the poor, the learned, the unlearned 
the bond, the free ; all come to him, without distinction of rank, 
or of merit. All melt before him into penitence and love, and 
their hearts become one. Under the full influence of this doctrine, 
no man can glory in men, or treat with contempt a fellow member 
of Christ, a weak brother whom Christ has received. 

This doctrine prepares us to join the song of the redeemed in 
heaven. Even here we learn to sing, " Not unto us, not unto us, 
but unto thy name give the glory," 1 and the same shall be our 
song, when we stand before the throne. " Salvation, and glory, 
and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God." 2 The celestial 
harps cannot sound a self-righteous note. It would disturb the 
heavenly harmony. Every heart feels, and every song declares, 
that " Salvation is of the Lord." 3 

1 Ps. cxv. 1. % Rev. xix. 1. Jonah ii. 9. 



BOOK EIGHTH. 
DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 



INTRODUCTION. 

DUTY OP PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE WORLD. 1 

The people of God have ever been strangers and pilgrims in the 
earth. Though in the world, they are not of the world ; and, both 
by their professions and their deportment, they declare plainly, 
that they seek another country, as their final home. Hence, they 
walk not according to the course of this world, and are deaf to its 
enticements, and appear to have their eyes fixed on objects that 
the world sees not. So Moses endured, as seeing him who is invis- 
ible. 2 So he turned his back on the pleasures of sin, and the 
treasures of Egypt, and had respect unto the recompense of the 
reward, to be obtained in the future world. So patriarchs, pro- 
phets, apostles, and martyrs, have lived for eternity, and have left 
their testimony to mankind, that they were not of this world, and 
that their treasure, their hearts, and their final home to which they 
journeyed, were in heaven. These examples call on us for imita- 
tion, and, if we possess the wisdom and spirit by which they were 
actuated, we too shall make it the business of our lives, to prepare 
for the future world. 

The precepts of revelation call on us to prepare for eternity. 

1 Amos iv. 12. Prepare to meet thy God. 

2 Cor. iv. 18. "We look not at the things which are seen and temporal, but 
at the things which are unseen and eternal. 

2 Heb. xi. 27. 

(339) 



340 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

"Prepare to meet thy God." "Set your affections on things 
above." 1 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay 
up for yourselves treasures in heaven ; for where your treasure is, 
there will your heart be also." 2 " that they were wise, that they 
would consider their latter end." 3 All revelation calls as with one 
voice, as with a voice from heaven, a voice of warning, expostula- 
tion, and earnest entreaty, to quit this perishing world, to flee from 
the wrath to come, to lay hold on eternal life, and to seek a con- 
tinuing city, an enduring portion, in the world to come. With re- 
ference to this future world, every duty is enjoined, every promise 
made, every motive presented, and he whose eye is not steadfastly 
fixed on that world, has no reason to hope that he will secure the 
inheritance of the saints. 

Since the motives to holiness, and to diligence in the pursuit of 
it, are drawn so abundantly from the future world, a knowledge of 
that world is of great importance to all men. Every man knows 
that the time of his continuance on earth is short and uncertain ; 
and while fully assured that he must leave this world, and that the 
time of his departure is just at hand, to make no inquiry concern- 
ing the world to which he is going, or to disregard authentic infor- 
mation concerning it, and the means of obtaining happiness there, 
is folly in the extreme. It is therefore wise to study the doctrine 
concerning the future world, and to study it as a subject of 
momentous personal interest. At every step in our progress, we 
should ask, how does this truth affect my heart ? Am I so run- 
ning as to obtain? Are my prospects clear? Ought I not to 
renew my diligence, and to seek more earnestly the guidance and 
help needed, that I may finish my course with joy? 

1 Col. iii. 2, 2 Matt. vi. 19, 20, 21. 8 Deut. xxxii. 29. 



IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 341 



CHAPTER I. 

immortality and separate state of the soul. 

When the human body dies, the soul, which is immortal, 
continues to exist in a separate state. 1 

When the body dies, the atoms of which it consisted are not 
annihilated ; but they separate from each other, and continue to 
exist in a different state, or in new combinations. The mind, which 
had previously existed in connection with the body, and had, in 
that connection, exhibited phenomena, superior to matter, and 
peculiar to mind, now disappears, and no longer manifests itself as 
formerly. Though it has disappeared, analogy suggests, that it 
has not been annihilated. The same philosophy that teaches the 
indestructibility of the atoms which compose the body, gives its 
sanction to the doctrine, that the soul is immortal. As the soul is 
not a compound substance, like the body, it is not susceptible of 
decomposition, and, therefore, if it continues to exist, it must exist 
entire, with the properties peculiar to it. 

Though philosophy gives its sanction to the doctrine of the 
soul's immortality, it arrives at the truth through«so many perplex- 
ing difficulties, that it grasps it finally with but a feeble faith. 
Plants are bodies of peculiar organization ; and are endowed with 
vitality, either arising from, or connected with, their organization. 
Brute animals possess organized bodies, endowed with vitality, and, 
in connection with this vitality, properties are exhibited, which 
resemble those of the human mind. In surveying the ord'er of 
beings, from the most imperfect plant, through the rising scale, up 
to man, the most exalted of animals, philosophy asks, whether man 
alone is immortal. This question, with which philosophy is embar- 
rassed, natural religion comes in to answer. The moral faculty of 

1 Luke xvi. 22, 23 ; xxiii. 43 ; Matt. xxii. 31, 32 ; Luke xx. 37, 38 ; Rev. xiv. 
13 ; Heb. xii. 23 ; 2 Cor. v. 6, 8 ; Phil. i. 23; 1 Thess. v. 10 ; Eccl. xii. 7. 



S42 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

man, and its adaptedness to religion, separate him widely from all 
other animals, and justify the conclusion that he alone, of all the 
creatures that inhabit the earth, is destined to immortality. 

Philosophy and natural religion have, after all, only an obscure 
view of this important truth. Life and immortality are brought to 
light by the gospel. 1 Divine revelation was needed, to make the 
truth clear ; and that revelation, in the light of the gospel, has so 
exhibited the truth, that he who does not see it, is wilfully blind. 
In the dawn of revelation under the former dispensation, so much 
light was thrown on this truth, that believers of that age regarded 
themselves as pilgrims and strangers in the earth, and declared 
plainly that they sought a continuing city, a place of everlasting 
abode, in another world. But the gospel of Jesus Christ has 
poured the light of noonday on this momentous truth. The doctrine 
of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus, have lifted the veil that 
hid the invisible world from our view, and we are now permitted 
to look into it, with the full assurance of hope. 

When the soul leaves its mortal tenement, we are taught by the 
Scriptures that it is not companionless. The departing spirit of 
Lazarus was borne by angels to Abraham's bosom. 2 This discourse 
of our Saviour concerning the rich man and Lazarus, was designed 
to give us knowledge of the future world. It is not called a parable, 
but if we regard it as such, it should be remembered, that the 
parables of Jesus were not like the fables of JEsop, in which beasts 
and birds spoke and reasoned, but were representations drawn 
from nature, and conformed to the existing properties of things. 
In this view, though we are not obliged to regard the account of 
the rich man and Lazarus, as the actual history of two individuals, 
it is such a representation as our divine teacher was pleased to 
employ, to give us some knowledge of the unseen world. In this 
representation, the angels, who, according to sacred teaching in 
which is no parable, are ministering spirits, 3 sent forth to minister 
to them who are heirs of salvation, are hovering around the 
despised beggar, in his last suffering, and receiving his released 
spirit, to bear it to its final happy abode. Death, to the departing 
saint, is not a journey through a solitary way. He is no sooner 
Separated from earthly friends, than he finds himself in a company 

1 2 Tim. i. 10. 2 Luke xvi. 22. 8 Heb. i. 14. 






IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 343 

of celestial spirits, who offer themselves as his attendants and 
guides, to his eternal and blissful home. 

Paul has taught us, that believers, who depart from the dissolving 
tabernacle, when absent from the body, are present with the Lord. 1 
The promise made to the dying thief, is fulfilled to every expiring 
saint : " To-day, thou shall be with me in paradise." 2 More than 
this, he has promised : " I will come again, and receive you unto 
myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." 3 As the 'Lord 
descended on Mount Sinai, with ten thousands of his angels, so he 
comes with these attendant spirits, to the chamber in which the 
Christian dies. As he enters the unseen world, he can joyfully 
exclaim : " I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." In company 
with his blessed Lord, and borne by ministering spirits, the depart- 
ing saint is conveyed to the mansion which Jesus has prepared for 
him in the Father's house. Here, he is brought into Abraham's 
bosom, into intimate communion with the Father of the faithful, 
and all the holy patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, and with all the 
spirits of just men made perfect. 

The paradise to which the departing spirit goes, is not a place 
distinct from the heaven in which God makes the most glorious 
manifestation of himself, and in which the glorified body of Christ 
has been received until the restitution of all things. The idea, that 
the disembodied spirit has a separate existence in sheol or hades, 
shut out from the glorious assembly near the throne, has originated 
from a misinterpretation of Scripture. Sheol or bades means the 
unseen world into which the spirit enters, when it leaves the body ; 
but nothing is determined, by the use of the term, respecting the 
place or condition of the departed. The rich man and Lazarus 
alike went to the unseen world ; but the rich man was " in torment," 
and Lazarus "in Abraham's bosom." 

When separated from the body, the soul does not lose the mental 
powers which belong to it. The power of perception remains : for 
the rich man, though the eyes of the body were closed and in the 
grave, lifted up other " eyes" in hell, and saw Abraham afar off. 
The power of memory remains : for Abraham said : " Son, remem- 
ber that thou," &c. The capacity of enjoying and suffering renins : 
for Lazarus was comforted, and the rich man tormented. It 

1 2 Cor. v. 8. 2 Luke xxiii. 43. 3 John xiv. 3. 



344 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 



appears, also, from the discourse between Abraham and the rich 
man, that disembodied spirits not only know each other, but are 
allowed to hold converse with each other. Doubtless their modes 
of perceiving, and of communicating with each other, differ widely 
from ours ; and all attempts to understand what is entirely beyond 
our experience and conception, must necessarily fail. What the 
Scriptures teach on the subject, is all that we can possibly know : 
and they explicitly declare that the instruction which they give on 
the subject, leaves our knowledge imperfect: "We know in part." 1 
"We see through a glass darkly." 2 

The Scriptures teach us that the departed spirit of the saint is 
free from suffering. It no longer groans, being burdened. 3 Lazarus 
is comforted. 4 Together with freedom from suffering, it enjoy3 
freedom from sin. The spirits of just men, when separated from 
the bodies in which they groaned, are " made perfect." 5 They are 
admitted into the high and holy place, where nothing impure can 
enter. 

The souls of the wicked, as well as of the righteous, are immortal, 
and survive the body. They, too, have their companions ; for the 
devil, by whom they have been led captive, and his angels, with 
whom they are to suffer everlasting punishment, receive them into 
their society. Their mental powers and capacities remain, to see 
heaven and glory at a distance, to remember and bitterly regret 
their sin against God, and the opportunity of mercy despised, and 
to endure torments without mitigation, or hope of relief. 

Some persons have supposed that departed spirits become angels, 
and have cited, in proof of this opinion, the words of the angel to 
John : " I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren, the prophets." 6 
They understand that the angel declares himself to be the spirit 
of one of the ancient prophets. But this is an erroneous interpre- 
tation of the passage, which may be correctly interpreted thus : 
" I am the fellow-servant of thee, and the fellow-servant of thy 
brethren, the prophets." The angels are spirits, but not human 
spirits. They were never redeemed by the blood of Christ ; and 
therefore, in their joyful announcement to the shepherds of Beth- 
lehem, they said : " Unto you," not unto us, " is born this day in 



1 1 Cor. xiii. 9. 2 1 Cor. xiii. 12. s 2 Cor. v. 4. 

4 Luke xvi. 25. 6 Heb. xii. 23. 6 Rev. xix. 10. 



RESURRECTION. 345 

the city of David, a Saviour." 1 Hence the song of redemption, 
when heard in heaven, is described as a new song, 2 having never 
been sung by the angelic choirs. Paul has clearly distinguished 
between the innumerable company of angels, 3 and " the spirits of 
just men made perfect," though they are named together, as com- 
ponent parts of the great society into which men are introduced, 
when they become believers in Christ. 



CHAPTER II. 

RESURRECTION. 



The bodies op all who die, will be raised from the dead, 
and re-united to their spirits, for the judgment of the 
great day. 4 

Philosophy and natural religion may attain to an obscure dis- 
covery of the soul's immortality ; but we should have remained 
ignorant concerning the resurrection of the body, if we had not 
been instructed by divine revelation. From God's book we learn 
that the body is redeemed, 5 as well as the soul ; and that the body 
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption. That no 
doubt may remain on the subject, the body which is to be raised 
again, is described as the corruptible, the vile body, the body 
deposited in the grave : 6 " This corruptible shall put on incor- 
ruption." 7 " Who shall change this vile body." 8 "All that are 
in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth." 9 Paul 
urges not to use the members of the body for sinful purposes, 
because the body is the temple of the Holy Ghost : 10 and, with ref- 
erence to the same body he says, " If the Spirit of him that raised 
up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from 
the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies, by his Spirit that 

1 Luke ii. 11. 2 Rev. v. 9. 8 Heb. xii. 22, 23. 

4 John v. 28, 29; Dan. xii. 2; Job xix. 25-27; Ps. xvii. 15;: Acts iv. 2; 
xxiv. 15 ; xxvi. 8 ; Rom. viii. 11 ; 1 Cor. xv. 12-54 ; 1 Thess. iv. 14-17 ; Rev. 
sx. 6, 12, 13. 

5 1 Cor. vi. 20. 6 John v. 28. 7 1 Cor. xv. 53. 
8 Phil. iii. 21. * John v. 28. 10 1 Cor. vi. 19. 



346 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

dwelleth in you." 1 No doubt can remain that the Scriptures teach 
the resurrection of the mortal body, the body that dies, and enters 
the grave. 

The resurrection of the body is not only taught in the Scrip- 
tures, but it is exemplified in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
The fact that he was raised from the dead, is testified by many 
witnesses, who saw him, and conversed, and ate and drank with 
him, after his resurrection ; and who confirmed the truth of their 
testimony by astonishing miracles and sufferings. On this grand 
fact the truth of Christianity depends ; and therefore the doctrine 
of the resurrection is fundamental and vital to the Christian 
system. If it is not true, Christ is not risen ; and, if Christ is 
not risen, Paul admits " our preaching is vain, and your faith is 
vain, and we are found false witnesses of God." 2 

As the resurrection is a desirable privilege to the just, only, it 
is treated of, in some passages of Scripture, as if it appertained 
to them exclusively : but other passages teach that it will be univer- 
sal : " There shall be a resurrection of the just and of the unjust." 3 
" All that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and come forth, 
they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that 
have done evil to the resurrection of damnation." 4 The only ex- 
ception to its universality will be in the case of those who shall be 
found alive at Christ's second coming. Concerning these, Paul 
has taught us that they will undergo a change 5 equivalent to that 
which they pass through who shall have died and risen again. 
Their case, therefore, is virtually no exception to the general rule : 
"It is appointed unto all men once to die." 6 "As in Adam all 
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 7 

The power by which the dead are raised, is God's. To the-Sad- 
ducees, who erred respecting the resurrection, the Saviour said, 
"Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." 8 
It is a work which nothing short of omnipotence could accomplish. 
The Son of God is represented as the immediate agent, "Who 
shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his 
own glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able 

1 Horn. viii. 11. 2 1 Cor. xv. 14, 15. 8 Acts xxiv 15. 

4 John v. 28, 29. 6 1 Cor. xv. 52. « Heb. ix. 27. 

7 1 Cor. xv. 22. 8 Matt. xxii. 29. 



RESURRECTION. 34" 

even to subdue all things unto himself." 1 Even when he was on 
earth, weak and despised, he claimed this power : " The hour is 
coming, when all that are in their graves shall hear his voice [the 
voice of the Son of God], and shall come forth." 2 At his com- 
mand, who said, "Lazarus, come forth," the dead shall quit their 
graves, and assemble at his tribunal : and the power which he will 
manifest, in bringing them before him, will demonstrate his right 
to judge them. 

The resurrection, though it will require the same power that 
created the world out of nothing, will not be another creation. 
The glorified body will not be created out of nothing, but will be 
formed out of the vile and mortal body wh?ch the spirit once in- 
habited : " Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fash- 
ioned," &c. 3 The same body of Jesus which was nailed to the 
cross and laid in the tomb, was raised from the dead, and wa»s seen 
by the disciples ascending from Mount Olivet. It had been trans- 
figured on Mount Tabor, and rendered glorious in the view of the dis- 
ciples who were present ; and now it is crowned with glory and 
honor, in the presence of all the celestial hosts. It is now the 
"glorious body," into the likeness of which he will fashion our 
vile bodies, when he fits them to inhabit the mansions that he has 
prepared. 

How the " vile body" will be changed, we know not. We are 
tinder no obligation to suppose that all the gross matter of which 
it consists, will be included in the glorious body into which it will 
be fashioned. The corruptible body is perpetually losing, in the 
daily waste which it undergoes, the atoms of matter which compose 
it, and having their place supplied by other atoms, received from 
the nourishment taken in to supply the waste. The nails are pared 
away, and the hair shorn off; and other growth succeeds, to take 
the place of that which is lost. The bones, muscles, and all other 
parts of the body, undergo a change as real, though not so appar- 
ent, and as unceasing. The fluid parts of the body change more 
rapidly ; and the solid parts are absorbed and renewed by the de- 
posit of other matter, in the processes of nutrition and assimila- 
tion. It is not necessary to suppose that all the matter thus lost, 
during a life of fourscore years, will be gathered again. The 



1 Phil. iii. 21. 2 John v. 28. 3 Phil. iii. 21. 



348 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

identity of the body during life did not imply an identity of the 
atoms composing it : and much less is an identity of atoms neces- 
sary to be preserved, when it is changed into the glorious. Paul's 
teaching on this point is explicit : " Thou sowest not that body 
that shall be, but bare grain ; but God giveth it a body as it hath 
pleased him." What is deposited in the ground, is bare grain; 
but the body which God giveth consists of the blade, the ear, and 
the full corn in the ear. The body deposited, dies ; that is, it is 
decomposed, and ceases to be the bare grain deposited. Part of 
its matter is lost, and part enters into the composition of the new 
plant, and God adds other matter, constructing such a body as 
pleases him. Such is the illustration which this inspired writer 
gives of the process by which the dead will be raised ; and we are 
certainly freed by it from the obligation of regarding a philo- 
sophical identity of atoms, as necessary to be preserved in the 
resurrection of the dead. 

Yet, let us observe the relation which the glorious body has to 
the vile body. It is not another body, but the vile body changed. 
In Paul's illustration, he says : " God giveth it a body as it hath 
pleased him, and to every seed his own body." 1 So, every man 
who rises from the grave, will come forth with his own body. How- 
ever changed, he will recognise himself, and will be recognised by 
others, as the same. When wheat, rye, barley, and other grains, 
are sown in the ground, a grain of each may be deposited in the 
same bed; and when they spring up together, though all have 
bodies differing from the bare grain that was sown, they differ also 
from each other. Every seed has "his own body;" and it may 
be determined with certainty which is the wheat, which the rye, 
which the barley, &c. The illustration is doubtless incomplete : 
but the wisdom of inspiration has given it, to assist our conceptions 
of this mysterious subject ; and our faith, without presuming to be 
wise above that which is written, should thankfully receive the 
instruction graciously imparted. 

What will be the form and the properties of the glorified body, 
it is impossible for us to know. Even the beloved disciple who lay 
on the bosom of Jesus did not claim to know this : — " Beloved, it 
doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that when he 

1 1 Cor. xv. 37, 38. 2 1 Cor. xv. 38. 



RESURRECTION. 349 

shall appear, we shall be li.ke him, for we shall see him as he is." 1 
It ought to satisfy u»s that we shall be fashioned like the glorious 
body of Christ. But though this general information ought to be 
sufficient, the Scriptures, while they do not attempt to describe a 
glorified body, have given us some information respecting it. 

It is incorruptible. Our bodies here undergo perpetual decay 
and perpetual renewal ; and they finally suffer decomposition, .and 
return to dust. The glorified body will suffer no decomposition, no 
waste, and, therefore, will not need renewal. The process of 
nutrition by food, and the organs of digestion, will not be needed. 
" Meats are for the belly, and the belly for meats ; but God shall 
destroy both it and them." 2 The glorified body will be adapted to 
all the purposes for which it will be used ; but, as our mode of life 
will be entirely different, corresponding changes will be made in 
the members and organs, to adapt the body to the mode of life 
into which it enters. 

It will be spiritual. Paul affirms this. He says, " It is sown a 
natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, 
and there is a spiritual body." 3 What a spiritual body is, we are 
unable to say. We shall not be pure or uncompounded spirit, as 
God is ; for we shall have a " body," which God cannot be said to 
have. But that body will be " spiritual," as distinguished from the 
natural or grossly material bodies that we now possess. It will 
be freed from the inactivity, the ponderableness that now binds us 
to the earth ; and will be fitted for swift motion, similar to that of 
which angelic spirits are capable. 

It is immortal. "Now this mortal must put on immortality." 4 
As there will be no need to supply a daily waste in each individual 
body, or to preserve it from corruption, so there will be no need to 
supply a waste of the race by death. " They neither marry, nor 
are given in marriage ; neither can they die any more ; for they 
are equal unto the angels." 5 In a state of being so different from 
the present, we shall need bodies of far different construction and 
properties ; and, from the likeness which we are to bear to the 
angels, we may infer that our spiritual bodies will resemble, to 
some extent, the spirituality of these holy and immortal beings. 

1 1 John iii. 2. 1 Cor. vi. 13. 3 1 Cor. xv. 44. 

* 1 Cor. xv. 53. 5 Luke xx. 35, 36. 



350 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

The true and perfect pattern to which we shall be conformed, is the 
glorious body of the Redeemer, who, though once dead, now liveth 
for ever, and who will give us to share his own immortality. " Be- 
cause I live, ye shall live also." 1 

With what body the wicked will come, and to what likeness they 
will be conformed, the Scriptures do not tell us. As they will be 
raised, to stand in the judgment, and receive the sentence under 
which they will suffer everlasting punishment, in the fire prepared 
for the devil and his angels ; we may conclude that, both in body 
and spirit, they will be fitted and capacitated for the everlasting 
endurance of the torments inflicted. We know that their bodies 
will not be " glorious," for their resurrection will be " unto shame 
and everlasting contempt." 2 Conjecture, on points which revela- 
tion has not enlightened, must be unprofitable. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE LAST JUDGMENT 



In the last day Jesus Christ will come to judge the world ; 
and, having assembled all men before him, will pass sen- 
tence on them according to their works. 3 

Natural religion leads us to expect future retribution ; and of 
course some sort of judgment, by which that retribution will be 
awarded. Even the heathen mythology had its judges, iEacus, 
Minos, and Rhadamanthus, by whom the dead had their place and 
condition assigned to them in the other world. But the doctrine 
of a public, general judgment, is peculiar to revelation. This 
teaches, that, besides the judgment passed on each individual when 
he leaves this world, there will be a final judgment, in which all men 
will stand at the judgment seat of Christ, and receive their final 
sentence from his lips. " God hath appointed a day, in which he 
will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath 

1 John xiv. 19. 2 Dan. xii. 2. 

8 Rev. xx. 11, 12; Acts xvii. 30, 31; Eccl. xi. 9 ; xii. 14; Matt. xii. 36; 
1 Pet, iv. 4, 5 ; 2 Cor. v. 10. 



THE LAST JUDGMENT. 351 

ordained." 1 "It is appointed unto all men once to die, and after 
this the judgment." 2 

As the condition of each soul will be determined, when it leaves 
the body, another judgment may, to our finite minds, appear to be 
unnecessary; but the wisdom of God has determined otherwise. 
All the reasons for this divine appointment, we cannot presume to 
understand ; but we are able to conceive of some important advan- 
tages which may arise from a general judgment. 

The general judgment will publicly and impressively vindicate 
the ways of God, in the view of all intelligent beings. The mys- 
tery of the divine administration will then be fully unfolded ; the 
wisdom and righteousness of all God's dispensations will then be 
made apparent ; the justice of the sentences then pronounced will be 
rendered perfectly clear ; and, on every creature, as he leaves the 
tribunal, to go to the place assigned him, an impression will have 
been made, which will last throughout eternity. It is for the glory 
of God, that his perfections should thus be displayed, in the view 
of his intelligent creatures ; and the remembrance of this great 
day will constitute an important element in the happiness or misery 
to which each individual will be adjudged. 

The general judgment will be honorable to Jesus Christ. It is 
called " the day of Christr" 3 When Jesus stood, as an arraigned 
malefactor, before the Jewish council, he claimed, in their presence, 
to be the Christ, and he referred to this day as the time when his 
claim would be acknowledged. This will be the day of Christ, the 
d-ay when every knee shall bow to him, 4 and every tongue confess 
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 5 

The general judgment will extend to the bodies of men. The 
previous judgment, at the death of each individual, affects the spirit 
only. But men are to be judged according to the deeds done in 
the body, and it is fit that they should be judged in the body, and 
especially inasmuch as the body is to participate in the final retri- 
bution. 

The general judgment will suitably mark the final victory over 
all God's enemies. Among men, days of triumph have been ob- 
served, when wars have terminated, and victory has been attained. 



1 Acts xvii. 31. 2 Heb. ix. 27. 3 Phil. i. 6 ; 2 Thess. ii. 2. 

* Rom. xiv. 11. 5 Phil. ii. 11. 



352 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

In the great day of the Lord, all the enemies of God will have 
been subdued ; the kingdom, which, as rebels against him, they 
have seized and claimed, will have been fully restored ; and uni- 
versal peace and order will have been established in Jehovah's 
empire. At this day of triumph, it is suitable that all creatures 
should be present, to do honor to the victory, and to him by whom 
it has been achieved. • 

The judge on the last day will be Jesus Christ, the same who 
was condemned at the bar of Caiaphas and of Pilate. How changed 
the scene ! They who then condemned him to death, will now 
tremble before him, and be condemned by him to death eternal. 
" The Father has committed all judgment to the Son." 1 The trans- 
actions of the great day will form a part of his mediatorial admin- 
istration. Having undertaken to restore order to God's empire, 
in which the rebellion of the human race had broken out, and 
having assumed the office of Mediator for this purpose, it will be 
proper, in this office, to complete the work ; and therefore Christ 
the Mediator will be the Judge in the last great day: "We must 
all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." 2 

At the day of judgment Christ will make his second coming. 
This coming is frequently spoken of in the Holy Scriptures. He 
instituted the Lord's supper, to be observed until he come. 3 Be- 
lievers are described as looking for his appearing. 4 As men look 
for a beloved friend who has gone away, leaving a promise of 
return ; so believers in Christ look for the return of their Lord, 
who has promised, "I come quickly ;" 5 and they pray, "Even so, 
come, Lord Jesus." 6 He came, formerly, with sin ; not sin of his 
own, but the sin of his people, which the Lord laid on him. Hav- 
ing fully expiated this by his death, he will come, the second time, 
without sin unto salvation." 7 On this great and terrible day, 
Christ will come to the salvation of his people, and will, at the 
same time, take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey 
not the gospel. In a subordinate sense, he is said to come, when 
he displays his power, either in the deliverance of his people, or 
in the destruction of his enemies. But all these times are over- 

1 John v. 22. 2 Rom. xiv. 10. 3 1 Cor. xi. 26. 

* Heb. ix. 28. 5 Rev. xxii. 12. 6 Rev. xxii. 20. 

' Heb. ix. 28. 






THE LAST JUDGMENT. 606 

looked in the computation, when, with reference to his appearing 
for judgment, it is said, " he will come the second time." This will 
be the great day of deliverance and of wrath. There are other 
comings mentioned in Scripture, not included in this computation, 
which are only preparatory and subordinate. 

An impression has often prevailed among the followers of Christ, 
that his second coming was near at hand. This impression, when 
soberly entertained, has a salutary influence. Compared with the 
eternity which is to follow, the interval until the day of judgment 
is exceedingly short ; and but a very little part of this short inter- 
val is included in the life of any one individual ; whose prepara- 
tion for judgment must be completed before he is called away by 
death. It is therefore true concerning every one, that the time is 
short, 1 and that the Judge standeth before the door. 2 But the 
expectation that Christ's coming will be so hastened as not to leave 
time for the fulfilment of prophecy, or for the measure of duty and 
suffering to which he has appointed us, is of injurious tendency. 
An erroneous impression on this subject had so disquieted the 
minds of the Thessalonian Christians, that Paul thought it neces- 
sary, in his second epistle to them, to free them from its influence : 
" Be not shaken in mind, or troubled, as that the day of Christ 
is at hand." 3 It may be that they had mistaken his design, when, 
in his first epistle to them, he said, " We which are alive and remain 
unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are 
asleep." 4 They may have understood him to intimate, by his use 
of the word "we," that he expected to be alive and remain when 
Christ should appear. He may have used this word as including 
himself, in interest, in the number of those who will be alive at 
the second coming; or he may intimate that believers of each 
successive generation should regard themselves as placed, for the 
time, on the watch-tower, to look for the coming of Christ, and 
that, compared with those who had fallen asleep, all who at any 
time are alive and remain, should regard themselves, though look- 
ing for his coming, as having no advantage to prevent [go before, 
or get the start of] those that are asleep. Whatever may have 
been Paul's design in using this mode of speech, it . is dear, from 

1 1 Cor. vii. 29. 2 James v. 9. 

8 2 Thess. ii. 2. * 1 Thess. iv. 15. 

23 



354 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

his second epistle, that he did not mean to make the impression 
that the coming of Christ was so near at hand. He stated ex- 
plicitly, that the day will not come, " unless there he a falling away 
first, and the man of sin be revealed." 1 It was necessary that 
time should be allowed for the Romish apostasy. So now, there 
are' various prophecies remaining to be fulfilled ; as, the calling of 
the Gentiles, the conversion of the Jews, and the millennial state 
of the Church. All these must be accomplished before the coming 
of Christ ; and, while these prophecies remain unfulfilled, believers 
should not permit themselves to be troubled in mind by those who 
would persuade them that the end of the world is just at hand. 

Some suppose that the coming of Christ, and the resurrection 
of the righteous dead, will precede the millennium, and that the 
resurrection of the wicked will be at the end of the thousand 
years. This opinion, according to which the reign of Christ will be 
personal, is founded chiefly on Rev. xx. 4, 5: "And I saw the souls 
of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the 
word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his 
image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in 
their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand 
years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand 
years were finished. This is the first resurrection." In carefully 
examining this passage, we may observe that the first resurrection 
here mentioned does not include all the righteous dead, but only 
the martyrs ; and that it is not a resurrection of their bodies, but 
of their souls : " I saw the souls of them, and they lived," &c. 
Making due allowance for the boldly figurative language employed 
in this prophetical book, we may understand this passage to mean, 
that generations of holy men will arise, at the time here referred 
to, who will so much resemble the ancient martyrs in zeal and de- 
votion to the service of God, that it will be as if the souls of these 
martyrs had returned in new bodies. So Elijah reappeared, in 
the person of John the Baptist ; not literally, but in the figurative 
sense in which we may interpret the passage before us ; which, so 
understood, teaches a spiritual, and not a personal reign of Christ. 
It is true that Paul says, "the dead in Christ shall rise first:" 3 
but the meaning of this is, that the dead in Christ shall rise before 

1 2 Thess. ii. 3. 2 1 Thess. iv. 16. 



THE LAST JUDGMENT. 355 

the living saints shall be changed. The interval, however, he 
represents to be exceedingly short : " In a moment, in the twink- 
ling of an eye, the, trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be 
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Whether the 
wicked dead will be raised at the precise moment at which the 
righteous dead will be raised, we are not expressly informed ; but, 
from the representations of the scene which are given in the Scrip- 
tures, we may infer that one voice, one trumpet will call forth all 
the dead, and that one hour 2 will suffice for the resurrection of all. 
In one and the same day, 3 the great day of the Lord, he will be 
revealed in naming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not 
God ; and will come, to be glorified in his saints, and admired of 
all them that believe. 4 

The place of the final judgment will be on earth. Here Jesus was 
humbled, condemned, and crucified ; and here he will be glorified, and 
sit in judgment over all the world. When he ascended from the earth, 
it was foretold that he would return as he had ascended. 5 A cloud 
received him out of the sight of his disciples, 6 who were gazing 
after him as he went up ; and, on his return, he will be seen coming 
in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 7 A multitude 
of angels and the spirits of the just will attend him. The bodies 
of his saints, called forth from their graves, will rise to meet him 
in the air, and reunited with their spirits, will appear before him. 
The living saints will be changed and form a part of the company 
at his right hand. The wicked dead will be raised, and will stand 
on the left hand of the Judge. On what part of the earth the 
Saviour may choose to fix the throne of judgment, we are not 
informed, nor is it a matter of any moment. Why Sinai was 
selected for the giving of the law, Calvary for the crucifixion, and 
Olivet for the ascension, we know not. It is enough for us to 
know, that he will come, and that we must appear before him. 

In the description of the great day, contained in the book of 
Revelation, it is said, that the Judge will be seated on a great white 
throne, and that the books will be opened ; and that another book 
will be opened, which is the book of life : and the dead will be 

1 1 Cor. xv. 52. 2 John v. 25. 3 Acts xvii. 31. 

4 2 Thess. i. 8-10. • 5 Acts i. 11. 6 Acts i. 9. 

7 Matt, xxiv 30; Rev. i. 7. 



856 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

judged out of the things which are written according to their 
works. 1 The representation is douhtless figurative, hut we may 
learn from it that the decisions will he made in perfect justice ; 
and that the acquittal of the righteous will be an act of grace. 
Their names will be found in the Lamb's book of life. They will 
be accepted in that day, because they belong to Christ, and in 
proof of their attachment to him, their work and labor of love in 
his cause, and towards his people, will be brought into remembrance. 2 
In the transactions of this great day, notwithstanding the great- 
ness of the multitude that will be assembled, no individual will feel 
himself lost in the immense throng, or concealed from the view of 
the omniscient Judge. Every one will be brought to judgment, as 
if he were the only creature present, and every one will give 
account of himself, and receive sentence for himself with as much 
discrimination and perfection of justice, as if the judge were 
wholly absorbed in the consideration of his single case. So 
rapidly do our minds move, even now while bound to our sluggish 
bodies, that we can review our past history in a few moments, and 
judge and condemn ourselves before God. With a rapidity beyond 
our present conception, the deeds, words, and thoughts of our whole 
lives will pass in review before us on that day, and we shall realize 
that the eye of God is fixed on each particular with as thorough 
knowledge of it, as if that deed, word, or thought, were the only 
one on which he sat in judgment. How can we bear a scrutiny so 
severe, a knowledge so perfect ? How shall we abide a judgment 
so strict ? Who shall be able to stand ? 

1 Rev. xx. 11, 12. 2 Matt. xxv. 34-40. 



HEAVEN. 357 



CHAPTER IV. 

HEAVEN. 

The righteous will be taken to heaven, and made per- 
fectly HAPPY FOR EVER IN THE PRESENCE AND ENJOYMENT OF 

God. 1 

Godliness has the promise of the life that now is, and of that 
which is to come. It often happens that the believer in Christ has 
an afflicted lot in the present world ; but, in the midst of tribula- 
tions, he is enabled, through grace, to rejoice in hope of the glory of 
God. So much does the happiness of his present life depend on 
the hope of a better portion hereafter, that he is said to be " saved 
by hope." 2 This hope has for its object an inheritance that is 
incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. 3 He is taught 
by the doctrine of Christ, to look for this portion, not in this world 
of sin, not in the pursuits and enjoyments of carnal men, but in 
another and better world, to which his faith and hope are ever 
directed. 

The believer's portion is laid up in heaven. 4 That heaven is a 
place, and not a mere state of being, we are taught by the words 
of Christ, who said, "I go to prepare a place for you;" 5 but in 
what part of universal space this happy place is situated, the Bible 
does not inform us. It is sometimes called the third heavens, 6 to 
distinguish it from the atmospheric heaven, in which the fowls of 
heaven have their habitation, and from the starry heavens, which 
visibly declare the glory of God. The glory of the third heavens 
is invisible to mortal eyes ; and the place may be far beyond the 
bounds within which suns and stars shine, and planets revolve. 
Some have imagined that it is a vast central globe, around which 

1 Matt. xxv. 34 ; Luke xii. 32 ; John xiv. 2 ; Col. iii. 4 ; 1 Thess. iv. 17 ; 
Luke xxii. 29, 30 ; Acts xiv. 22 ; Rev. iii. 21 ; vii. 15-17 ; xiv. 4 ; 1 Pet. i. 3, 4 ; 
Matt. xxv. 21 ; John xvii. 24 ; Rev. xxi. 4 ; xxii. 3. 

2 Rom. viii. 24. 3 1 Pet. i. 3, 4. * Col. i. 5. 
5 John xiv. 2. 6 2 Cor. xii. 2. 



858 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

the stars of heaven are making their slow revolutions, carrying 
with them their systems of attendant planets. There is something 
pleasing in this conjecture, which connects astronomical science 
with the hopes of the Christian : but it must be remembered that 
it is mere conjecture. No telescope can bring this glorious place 
within the reach of human view. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear 
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things 
which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Yet, though 
science cannot give us a knowledge of this happy world, divine 
revelation has made us to some extent acquainted with it. Paul 
adds to the words just cited, " but God hath revealed them to us 
by his Spirit." By faith, which is the evidence of things not seen, 
we look at things unseen and eternal. The light of revelation 
brings the glories of the distant land before the eyes of our faith ; 
and in the spiritual enjoyment which we are made to experience, 
even in this land of exile, we have an earnest 2 and foretaste of 
heavenly joy. These drops of heaven sent down to worms below, 
unite with the descriptions found in God's holy word, to give such 
ideas of heaven as it is possible for us to form ; but at best, we 
know only in part. " It doth not yet appear, what we shall be," 
or where we shall be, or in what our bliss will consist. But 
though in looking forward to the inheritance in prospect, we are 
compelled to see through a glass darkly, we may yet discover that 
the future happiness of the saints will include the following 
elements : 

1. An intimate knowledge of God. Now we know in part, but 
then we shall know even as we are known. 3 Heaven is " the high 
and holy place, where God resides, the court of the great King." 
He says, "heaven is my throne." 4 Though present everywhere 
throughout his dominions, he manifests himself in a peculiar man- 
ner in this bright abode, of which the glory of God and the Lamb 
are the light. Here the blessed are permitted to see God. To 
see God, as human eyes now see material objects, by means of 
reflected light, will be as impossible then as it is now, for God is 
a spirit : but we shall have such a discovery of God, as is most 
appropriately expressed by the word see ; otherwise, the promise 



1 1 Cor. ii. 9. 2 Eph. i. 14. 

3 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 4 Isaiah lxvi. 1. 



HE A VEX. 359 

of Christ would not be fulfilled. " Blessed are the pure in heart * 
for they shall see God." 1 The knowledge of God will be communi- 
cated through the Mediator. "No man hath seen God at any 
time ; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, 
he hath declared him." 2 Though God dwells in light which no man 
can approach unto, and is a Being whom no man hath seen, or can 
see ; 3 yet the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face 
of Jesus Christ, the same that shines into the hearts of God's 
people on earth, fills the world of bliss. There no sun or moon 
shines ; but " the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the 
light thereof." The glory of God is the illumination, and the Lamb 
is the luminary from which it emanates. Jesus will still be our 
teacher there, and through him we shall acquire our knowledge of 
the perfections and counsels of God. 

Our knowledge of God will be for ever increasing. On earth? 
believers " grow in the knowledge of God and our Saviour Jesus 
Christ," and the advantages for attaining to higher knowledge, 
instead of ceasing at death, will be far greater in heaven. The 
perfections and counsels of the infinite God, will be an exhaustless 
source of knowledge, a boundless subject of investigation ; and 
the Mediator, the equal of the Father, and his bosom-counsellor, 
will be our all-sufficient instructor ; and our glorified spirits will 
be fitted to prosecute the study through eternal ages. It follows, 
that we shall continue to grow in the knowledge of God, while 
immortality endures. 

The angels diligently study the dealings of God with his people 
on earth, and, by this means, acquire knowledge of God's mani- 
fold wisdom. They saw his creative skill and power displayed, 
when the creation sprang forth from his hand in its unmarred 
beauty; and they rejoiced in songs and shoutings. They learned 
the justice of God, when some of their number were driven from 
heaven for their transgression, and doomed to interminable woe. 
While the angels have been making the dispensations of God's 
providence and grace their delightful study, we cannot suppose 
that the spirits of the just, who are their companions in glory, 
have been indifferent to these subjects ; which interested them so 
deeply while on earth. It must be, that they continue to make 

1 Matt. v. 8. 2 John i. 18. 3 1 Tim. vi. 16. 



360 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

progress in the knowledge which, while here below, they so ear- 
nestly desired to acquire, and in which they made a small begin- 
ning. Here, the ways of God appear dark and mysterious, and 
the doctrine taught us in his word, is attended with difficulties, 
which our finite minds labor in vain to remove. We desire instruc- 
tion on these points ; and Jesus has said, " What I do, thou know- 
est not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." 1 We wait now for 
the fulfilment of this promise ; and we hope hereafter, with the 
spirits that are before the throne, to drink in the knowledge which 
we are here so desirous to obtain, which we so greatly long to 
acquire. 

How far the learning of the future world will include the sci- 
ences which are taught in the schools on earth, it is of little use 
to inquire. It will certainly include whatever is necessary to the 
knowledge of God. We shall study his works, his moral govern- 
ment, and the mysterious scheme of redemption. New truths, of 
which we have now no conception, will be unfolded to our view ; 
and the truths of which we have now some knowledge, will be 
exhibited in new relations, and with new attractions. The truths 
which now appear discordant with each other, will have light 
thrown on their connecting links ; and the whole will be seen, in 
one grand system of beautiful proportion and perfect harmony, 
and in everything God will be displayed. All our knowledge 
will be the knowledge of him. 

2. Perfect conformity to God. The first man was made in the 
image of God; and the subjects of regeneration are renewed, after 
the image of God. But the likeness given in creation has been 
lost ; and that which is reproduced in regeneration is incomplete. 
God's people are striving and praying for a higher degree of con- 
formity ; and they are looking to the future world for the consum- 
mation of their wishes : " Then shall I be satisfied, when I awake 
in thy likeness." 2 They are predestinated to be conformed to the 
image of God's Son, 3 who is the image of the invisible God. 4 As 
they study the divine character here, they grow in conformity to 
it : " We, beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are 
changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the 

1 John xiii. 7. 2 Ps. xvii. 15. 

3 Rom. viii. 29. 4 Col. i. 15. 



HEAVEN. 361 

Spirit of the Lord." 1 The same transforming influence which the 
knowledge of God exerts in this life, will continue in the future 
world. As we make progress in the knowledge of God, we 
advance from glory to glory, in the likeness of God ; and this 
progress will be interminable, through all our immortal existence. 
We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." 2 

In being conformed to God, who is love, we shall love the display 
of divine perfection, of which we shall obtain increasing discoveries, 
in our study of the character, works, and government of God. 
As our knowledge enlarges, our love to the things learned will 
become more intense, and the new developments which will be 
made at every stage of our endless advancement will be increas- 
ingly ravishing. What would be subjects of barren speculation to 
merely intellectual beings, will be to us as moral beings, having a 
moral likeness to God, sources of ineffable bliss, ever rising higher 
and higher in its approach towards the perfect and infinite blessed- 
ness of God. 

3. A full assurance of divine approbation. In this world 
we groan, being burdened. A sense of sin, and God's dis- 
pleasure on account of it, often fills the mind with gloom. 
We see, in the gospel of Christ, how God can be just, and the 
justifier of the believer in Jesus : but our faith is often weak. We 
are conscious of daily offences against infinite love ; and the bitter- 
ness of grief possesses the soul. Oh ! to see our Father's face, 
without a cloud between, and to feel that perfect love occupies the 
full capacity of our hearts, and governs every emotion ! We pant 
after God, the living God. We long for heaven ; because there we 
shall dwell for ever in the light of his countenance. The sentence 
of the last judgment, " Come, ye blessed of my Father," will give 
an eternal assurance of divine acceptance, and perfect love in the 
heart will for ever exclude all fear. 

4. The best possible society. Paul thus describes this society : 
" Ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, 
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to 
the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written 
in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men 
made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant." 3 
Our brethren who have gone before us, with some of whom we 

1 2 Cor. iii. 18. 2 1 John iii. 2. 3 Heb. xii. 22-24. 



362 DOCTRINE CONCERNING- THE FUTURE WORLD. 

took sweet counsel here, and went to the house of God in company, 
are there waiting to welcome our arrival. The angels that attend 
on us as ministering spirits, during our pilgrimage here, will 
convey us, when we leave the world, to the glorious abode, in 
which they ever behold the face of our Father in heaven, and will 
form part of the happy society into which we shall be introduced. 
There we shall be with Jesus, the Mediator, who loved us, and 
gave himself for us, in whose blood we shall have washed our 
robes, and made them white ; there we shall approach to God, the 
Judge of all, who is our Father, the object of our love, and the 
source of our joy. In such society we shall spend eternity. We 
are travelling to our final home, through a desert land, a waste 
howling wilderness, but we seek a city ; and God is not ashamed 
to be called our God, for he hath prepared for us a city. 1 A 
city is a place where society abounds. The rich and noble resort 
to cities, that they may enjoy life. Here they display their wealth, 
erect magnificent palaces for their residence, and multiply the 
means of enjoyment to the utmost possible extent. In our eternal 
home, we shall not be lonely pilgrims ; but we shall dwell in the 
city of our God ; where the noblest society will be enjoyed, where 
the inhabitants will be all rich, made rich through the poverty of 
Jesus, and all kings and priests to God ; and where the King of 
kings holds his court, and admits all into his glorious presence. 

5. The most delightful employment. The future happiness of 
the saints is called a rest : but it is not a rest of inactivity ; 
which, however desired it may sometimes be, by those who inhabit 
sluggish bodies, is not suited to spiritual beings. The rest resem- 
bles the Sabbath, the holy day, in which the people of God 
now lay aside their worldly cares and toils, and devote the sacred 
hours to the worship of God. Such a sabbatism remains for the 
people of God, when the cares and toils of this life shall have ceased 
for ever. To the glorified saints, inaction would be torture, rather 
than bliss. Their happiness will not consist of mere passive enjoy- 
ment. They will serve God day and night ; and, in this service, 
will find their highest enjoyment. They pray now, that his will 
may be done on earth, as it is done in heaven ; and when they are 
themselves taken to heaven, they will delight to do his will, as it is 

1 Heb. xi. 16. 



HEAVEN. 363 

done by all the heavenly host. The worship of God, and the study 
of his holy word, form a part of the delightful employment of the 
saints on the earthly Sabbath. So, to worship God with joyful 
songs of praise and suitable ascriptions of glory, constitutes,, 
according to the Scripture representation, a part of the saints' 
employment in glory. The subjects of their transporting songs, 
and rapturous ascriptions of praise and glory, will be supplied by 
their continually fresh discoveries of the divine perfections, the 
study of which will also form an important part of their blissful 
employment. 

6. The absence of everything which could mar their happiness. 
Sin, which here pollutes all our joys, will never enter there ; for 
nothing entereth that defileth. 1 Devils and wicked men will be 
confined in their eternal prison, and will be able to molest no more. 
The sorrows and afflictions of this world will have passed away. 
There will be no more sickness, no more curse ; and death, the last 
enemy, will have been destroyed. 

7. A free use of all the means of enjoyment. Future happiness 
is promised as a kingdom: "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's 
good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 2 u Come, ye blessed of 
my Father, inherit the kingdom." 3 A king is superior to all the 
nobles of his realm, and holds the highest place of dignity in his 
dominions. Christ, as king, is crowned with glory and honor ; 
and believers also will be exalted to glory, honor, and immortality. 
The subjects of earthly despots are often deprived of their posses- 
sions by the injustice of those who have power over them ; but the 
king is above the reach of such injustice. He commands the 
resources of his dominions, and makes them contribute to his 
pleasure. Hence, to minds accustomed to regal government, 
royalty conveys the idea of the most abundant resources, and the 
highest measure of undisturbed enjoyment ; hence the language of 
Paul : " Now ye are full ; now ye are rich ; ye have reigned as 
kings." 4 In this view, the children of God will be made kings. 
Besides the honor to which they will be exalted, their enjoyments 
will be boundless. All the resources of creation will be made 
tributary to them, and no one will dispute their claim, or hinder 

1 Rev. xxi. 27. 2 Luke xii. 32. 

3 Matt xxv. 34. * 1 Cor. iv. 8. 



364 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

their enjoyment. Earthly crowns are often tarnished by the 
iniquity of those who wear them, but the crown bestowed on the 
children of God is a crown of righteousness, not only because it is 
righteously conferred, but because, without any unrighteous violence, 
the wearers will have all the honors and enjoyments of royalty 
secured to them for ever. 



CHAPTER V. 

HELL. 

The wicked will be cast into hell, where they will suffer 
everlasting punishment for their sins. 1 

Natural religion teaches the doctrine of future retribution ; and 
even the heathen had their notions of punishment to be endured in 
another world, for crimes committed in this. Conscience in every 
man's breast, as the agent of him who placed it there, inflicts 
torture, often intolerably severe, for iniquities perpetrated, and it 
teaches the transgressor, when he hears God's voice in the thunder, 
or beholds any remarkable display of the divine power, to tremble 
in the apprehension of suffering the wrath of heaven. Though 
conscience often sleeps, for a long period, over the sinner's guilty 
deeds, yet some special dispensation of Providence sometimes 
awakens it, and calls upon it to inflict its tortures. So Joseph's 
brethren, when brought into difficulties in Egypt, were reminded 
of their cruelty to their brother, and filled with anguish by the 
remembrance. 2 But conscience, in some hardened transgressors, 
sleeps undisturbed, while life lasts ; and natural religion, in view 
of the proofs that a great God reigns, infers that it will be awakened 
in another life which is to follow. Moreover, in the allotments of 
the present life, a partial disclosure of God's moral government is 
made, in the rewarding of virtue, and the punishing of vice ; but it 

1 Ps. ix. 17 ; Matt. x. 28 ; xiii. 40-42 ; xxiii. 29, 33 ; xxv. 41-43 ; Mark ix. 
43 ; 2 Thess. i. 7-9 ; 2 Pet. ii. 4, 9, 10 ; Jude 7 ; Rev. xiv. 11 ; xx. 10, 14, 15 ; 
xxi. 8. 

2 Gen. xlii. 21. 



HELL. 365 

is so incomplete, as here seen, that we are compelled to conclude, 
that, either the Governor of the Universe is not perfectly righteous, 
or his distribution of rewards and punishments reaches into a future 
state. Hence, the expectation of future punishment for crimes 
committed in this life, accords with the dictates of conscience and 
reason. 

But the strongest and most impressive proof of this momentous 
truth, is furnished by divine revelation. In God's book, the lessons 
of natural religion are taught with clearness and force ; and the 
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and 
unrighteousness of men. From this infallible word, we learn that 
wicked men treasure up wrath against the day of wrath, and the 
revelation of the righteous judgments of God. 1 We know that this 
day of God's wrath will be, when he shall be revealed in flaming fire, 
taking vengeance on all them that know not God, and obey not the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with ever- 
lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory 
of his power. 2 This day of judgment and wrath will not be in the 
present life : for " it is appointed to all men once to die, and after 
this the judgment." 3 " The rich man died, and in hell lifted up 
his eyes, being in torments." 4 Men will be called from their graves 
to the judgment ; and from the judgment, the wicked will be 
sentenced to everlasting punishment. God is to be feared, because, 
beyond the destroying of the body, he can destroy both soul and 
body in hell. 5 Vain are the dreams of infatuated mortals, who 
suppose that the only punishment to be endured- for sin is in the 
present life. Conscience and reason unite their voice, to awaken 
them from their delusion ; and revelation depicts the future retribu- 
tion before their eyes so clearly, that they must see it, unless wilfully 
and obstinately blind. 

The magnitude of the evil included in damnation may be inferred 
from the importance which the Scriptures attach to salvation. It 
was a great work which Christ undertook, when he came to seek 
and to save them that were lost ; 6 to save his people from their 
sins ; 7 not to condemn the world, but to save the world ; 8 to deliver 
from the wrath to come. 9 If wrath and damnation had been trivial 

1 Rom. ii. 5. 2 2 Thess. i. 8. 3 Heb. ix. 27. 

4 Luke xvi. 23. 6 Matt. x. 28. 6 Luke xix. 10. 

7 Matt. i. 21. 8 John iii. 17. 9 1 Thess. i. 10. 



366 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

matters, the sending of God's only son into the world, the laying 
of our sins upon him, and the whole expedient adopted to deliver 
us from these inconsiderable evils, would have been unworthy of 
infinite wisdom. It would not deserve to be called " a great 
salvation j" 1 and the intelligence of the Saviour's birth, brought by 
the angels, would not deserve to be called " good tidings of great 
joy." 2 Paul declared, "It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all 
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ;" s 
and Paul was of this mind, because he believed the salvation of a 
sinner to be a work of vast magnitude. In this view of it, he 
said : " My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they 
might be saved." 4 In this view, he relinquished every earthly 
hope, and gave himself to the ministry of the gospel, enduring all 
hardships and sufferings, if by all means he might save some. 5 Why 
did he labor thus, why suffer thus, if wrath and damnation are evils 
of little magnitude ? Paul understood the matter otherwise, when 
he, said, " Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." 6 It 
is said in the Scripture, "Who knoweth the power of thine anger? 
Even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath." 7 The utmost dread 
with which any finite mind can regard the wrath of God, will be 
realized, and more than realized, when that wrath is poured out on 
him. The power of God's anger, finite intelligence cannot con- 
ceive ; but God understands it well, and the full estimate of it was 
regarded, in the deep counsels which devised the scheme of salva- 
tion. An almighty Saviour, able to save to the uttermost, was 
chosen, because salvation was a work requiring such an agent for 
its accomplishment. The gospel is sent forth into the world, with 
the declaration of its great Author, " He that believeth and is 
baptised shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be 
damned." 8 Every sound of the glorious gospel speaks of salvation 
and damnation. Every accent of mercy, inviting the sinner to 
come to Christ for life, is a warning to flee from the wrath to come. 
Diminutive views of sin, and of the wrath of God due to sin, permit 
the sinner to sleep in neglect of the great salvation that God has 
provided. 

The human heart is prone to doubt the doctrine of eternal dam- 

1 Heb. ii. 3. 2 Luke ii. 10. 3 1 Tim. i. 15. 

* Rom. x. 1. 5 1 Cor. ix. 22. 6 2 Cor. v. 11 

7 Ps. xc. 11. 8 Mark xvi. 16. 



HELL. 367 

nation. The facts reported in the gospel, that Christ came into 
the world, died, and rose again, are so abundantly attested, that 
few have the hardihood openly to deny them. These are past facts, 
which rational men cannot well permit themselves to doubt ; but 
eternal woe is something future, unseen, and unfelt. The apprehen- 
sion of it disquiets men, and disturbs their enjoyments ; and hence 
they are prone to drive it from them. The threat of indignation 
and wrath, tribulation and anguish, is fearful ; but if they listen to 
it, and interpret it in its full import, they cannot remain at ease. 
Hence arises a criminal and fatal tendency not to take God at his 
word, in these fearful warnings and denunciations ; but to persuade 
ourselves that they will never be executed. Some relieving method 
of interpretation is adopted, or some view taken of God's benevo- 
lence and mercy, by which the sinner may be permitted to remain 
at ease, and hope that all will be well. Hence we see the aston- 
ishing fact, that multitudes practically neglect the gospel, who dare 
not openly deny it. If they verily believed that the wrath of God 
abides on them ; that the treasures of wrath are daily increasing, 
and that the accumulated vengeance is just ready to burst on their 
heads in a fearful tempest ; they would not, they could not remain 
at ease. To appreciate justly and fully the gospel of eternal sal- 
vation, we must believe, thoroughly believe, the doctrine of eternal 
damnation. All our misgivings, as to the truth of this doctrine, 
proceed from an evil heart of unbelief; and lead to a neglect of 
the great salvation. 

Some have sought relief, in the apprehension of future misery, 
from the idea that the language of Scripture, which describes it, 
is figurative. The descriptions of future happiness in heaven, are 
figurative ; but the figures convey very imperfect ideas of the 
reality. So it is with the figures which describe future misery. 
The fire prepared for the devil and his angels ; x the lake of fire ; 2 
unquenchable fire ; 3 the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is 
not quenched ; 4 are terrific descriptions ; but they are not exagge- 
rations. They are figures ; but they come short of the reality. 
When God punishes, he punishes as a God. Who knoweth the 
power of thine anger? What omnipotent wrath can accomplish, 

1 Matt. xxv. 41. 2 Rev. xx. 10. 

» Matt. iii. 12. * Mark ix. 44. 



368 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

all language fails to describe, and all finite minds are unable to 
conceive. 

Of what elements future misery will consist, we cannot tell ; but 
it will include poignant remorse, and a sense of divine wrath, with 
the absence of all enjoyment, and of all hope. It will produce, in 
the subjects of it, weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. They 
will realize that they are shut out for ever from the kingdom of 
heaven, into outer darkness; and they will remember the good 
things which they once enjoyed, never more to be enjoyed again ; 
and the opportunities of mercy, once neglected, never more to 
return. They will be tormented in the flame, without a drop of 
water to cool their tongues. Their hatred of God will be complete ; 
and they will blaspheme his. name, while they feel themselves 
grasped in the hand of his almighty wrath, without power to extri- 
cate themselves. Devils, and wicked men, all under the same con- 
demnation, will be their eternal companions : and the companion- 
ship, instead of affording relief, will be an aggravation of their woe. 
The whole throng, hateful, and hating one another, will be tor- 
mentors of one another. The malignant passions, which, on earth, 
caused wars, assassinations, cruelty, oppression, and every species 
of injury, will be let loose without restraint to banish peace and 
brotherhood for ever from the infernal society ; and the passions 
which burn in the hearts of wicked men on earth, and destroy all 
internal peace, and sometimes drive to suicide, will then be unre- 
strained, and do their full work of torture ; and relief by suicide, 
or self-annihilation, will be for ever impossible. 0, who can endure 
such torments ? Who will not, with every energy, and at every 
sacrifice, seek to escape from devouring fire and everlasting burn- 
ings ? 

As heaven is a place, so is hell. Judas went to his own place ; l 
and the rich man desired that his brethren might not come to this 
place of torment. 2 In what part of universal space this place is 
situated, we know not. Heaven is above, and hell beneath; but 
astronomy has taught us, that, in consequence of the earth's diur- 
nal rotation, the up and down of absolute space is not to be deter- 
mined by the position of the little ball which we inhabit. If the 
third heaven, where God resides, be a region of perfect light and 

1 Acts i. 25. 2 Luke xvi. 28. 



HELL. 869 

glory, beyond the limits within which stars and planets revolve; 
and if its inhabitants see the sun and stars, as beneath their feet : 
the region of outer darkness may be in the opposite extreme of 
space, where sun and stars shine not, and where the glory of God 
is for ever unseen. But, wherever it is, the broad way that sinners 
go, leads to it ; and they will at length certainly find it. 

The duration of future misery will be eternal. This is expressly 
declared in Scripture. " These shall go away into everlasting 
punishment ; but the righteous into life eternal." 1 The words 
everlasting and eternal are renderings of the same Greek word, 
which is applied alike to the future state of the righteous and the 
wicked. The punishment of these, and the happiness of those, will 
be of equal duration. Both will be eternal or everlasting. The 
criticism which would take the word in a different sense, in one 
case, from that which it is admitted to have in the other, is rash 
and dangerous. The same truth is taught in other passages of 
Scripture : — " Where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not 
quenched." 2 " The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever 
and ever." 3 " Suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." 4 The last 
passage, inasmuch as it refers to the cities of Sodom and Gomor- 
rah, which were destroyed by fire from heaven, may contain an 
allusion to that fire ; but this, viewed in itself, was not eternal fire. 
It was a type of future wrath, and may be regarded as its begin- 
ning, and first outbursting. The fire which consumed the cities 
of the plain, has long since ceased to burn ; but the wrath due to 
their guilty inhabitants did not then cease to burn : for the day of 
judgment will find Sodom and Gomorrah, 5 with guilty Chorazin, 
Bethsaida, and Capernaum, all doomed to suffer, according to their 
several measures of guilt, the vengeance of eternal fire. These 
cities, in their fearful overthrow, are set forth as an example ; and 
from the visible beginning of their awful doom, we may faintly 
conceive what will be the end. But it will be more tolerable for 
Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for those who 
hear and reject the gospel of Christ; who must, therefore, suffer 
the vengeance of eternal fire, in its fiercest burnings, and in its 
everlasting duration. 

1 Matt. xxv. 46. ' 2 Mark ix. 44. 3 Rev. xiv. 11. 

4 Jude i. 7. 5 Matt. xi. 21. 

24 



870 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

Future misery will not be purifying in its effect. The afflictions 
which the righteous endure in this world are fatherly chastisements, 
inflicted in love, and God designs them for the profit of his child- 
ren, that they may be partakers of his holiness. 1 Future misery 
will be inflicted not on the children of God, but on the enemies of 
God ; not in love, but in wrath. And it will not be designed for 
the profit of its subjects, but for the vindication of the law and 
justice of God, "to show his wrath and make his power known." 2 
Affliction purifies the righteous, not by any inherent tendency 
which it possesses, but by the accompanying influence of the Holy 
Spirit. The wicked, even in the present life, grow hardened under 
affliction, and sometimes blaspheme God, while they gnaw their 
tongues with pain. 3 In the world to come, the Holy Spirit will 
send forth no sanctifying influence to render future torments puri- 
fying. Many of the wicked he gives up to hardness of heart, even 
in the present life ; and to all of them the day of grace will be 
past for ever. 

The opinion that they will be ultimately restored to the favor 
of God, and taken to heaven, is not authorized by the Scriptures. 4 
On the contrary, it teaches that the Master of the house will 
"shut the door;" that there is a great gulf 5 between the two 
worlds, rendering passage from one to the other impossible ; that 
the unjust and filthy will remain unjust and filthy still. 6 Jesus 
said to some, " Ye shall die in your sins ; and whither I go ye 
cannot come :" 7 and he said concerning Judas Iscariot, "It had 
been good for that man if he had not been born." 8 The last words 
cannot be true, if Judas at any future time, however remote, 
shall be taken to heaven, to enjoy for ever the perfect happiness 
of that world : for the eternal weight of glory which will then be 
awarded to him, will far more than outweigh all his previous 
sufferings. The Scriptures teach that the heavens have received 
Jesus Christ, "until the restitution of all things:" 9 but if his 
restitution implied a restoration of all to the favor of God, Christ's 
second coming would be deferred until its accomplishment. But 
as Christ will come from heaven to judge the world, and will in 

1 Heb. xii. 10. 2 Rom. ix. 22. 3 Rev. xvi. 10, 11. 

* Luke xiii. 25. 5 Luke xvi. 26. 6 Rev. xxii. 11. 

7 John viii. 21. 8 Matt. xxvi. 24. 9 Acts iii. 21. 



HELL. 371 

tlte judgment, condemn the wicked to everlasting punishment, we 
must conclude that the restitution of all things will be regarded as 
complete and for ever fixed ; when the final judgment shall have 
decided the eternal state of all, and the order which had been 
disturbed by the enemies of God, shall have been fully restored in 
his kingdom. 

Future misery will not be annihilating in its effect. It is called 
death, the second death: but the first death does not imply anni- 
hilation of either soul or body ; and neither does the second. It 
is called destruction : but as the men of Sodom and Gomorrah 
were destroyed 1 in the overthrow of those cities, but are neverthe- 
less to appear in the day of judgment, 2 destruction does not imply 
annihilation. An immortal spirit suffers destruction when it is 
separated from God and happiness, and doomed to eternal misery. 
So the wicked shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from 
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. 3 
Besides death and destruction, the word corruption is used as the 
opposite of life. " They that sow to the flesh, shall of the flesh 
reap corruption, and they that sow to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit 
reap life everlasting." 4 Corruption is not annihilation. The death 
of the body is followed by corruption and the worm ; so that we 
may say to corruption, Thou art my father ; and to the worm, 
Thou art my mother and sister. 5 Hence, corruption, and the worm 
that dieth not, are figures employed to denote the consequences of 
the second death. By the flesh, to which men sow, and of which 
they reap corruption, we do not understand the material body, but 
the depraved mind. The corruption of this is its moral disorgani- 
zation, or utter loss of holiness. Were annihilation intended, the 
worm that dieth not, would cease to have anything on which to 
feed ; and the fire that cannot be quenched, would cease to burn 
for want of fuel. If the wicked are to be destroyed by instanta- 
neous annihilation, that destruction, instead of being an infliction 
of torment, will be a termination of all suffering. This does not 
accord with the Scripture representations of the future portion of 
the wicked : and no good reason can be assigned for raising the 
bodies of the wicked, if they are to be immediately annihilated. 

1 Luke xvii. 29. • 2 Matt. x. 15. 3 2 Thess. i. 9. 

4 Gal. vi 8. 5 Job. xvii. 14. 



S7J DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

If destruction is to be a process, whether rapid or lingering, by 
which annihilation is to be produced, it will not be everlasting 
destruction, or everlasting punishment; for the process and the 
punishment will sooner or later cease. To no purpose can it be 
called eternal punishment, when the subjects of it shall have 
eternally ceased to exist. To no purpose can any be said to suffer 
the vengeance of eternal fire, when the fire itself shall have eternally 
terminated their suffering. And to no purpose will the smoke of 
their torment ascend for ever and ever, when the torments them- 
selves shall have eternally ceased. 

Some understand the words, " Every one shall be salted with 
fire," 1 to import, that the fire of hell, instead of consuming its 
victims, will, like salt, preserve them. Whether this be its mean- 
ing or not, there is no reason to doubt that the vessels of wrath 
fitted for destruction, will be adapted to the suffering which they 
will undergo. Instead of wasting away under its influence, or 
having their powers of endurance benumbed, we may rather con- 
clude, that, as the righteous will perpetually ascend in bliss, the 
wicked will perpetually sink in woe. Their deep is bottomless, 2 and 
being banished from the presence of God, they may continue to 
recede from him for ever. Their capacity for suffering, their 
tormenting passions, their hatred of God, and of one another, 
may all increase indefinitely, through eternal ages. As wandering 
stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever, they 
will continue to fly further and further from God, the eternal 
source of light and happiness, into deeper, and still deeper dark- 
ness and woe. 0, that men would seek the Lord, while he may be 
found. 

Obj. 1. The justice of God does not require, and will not 
permit, the infliction of eternal torments for the sins committed in 
the short period of human life. If eternity be divided by the 
number of sins which any man commits, during the whole course 
of his probation on earth, the quotient will be eternity: and it 
follows, that future misery cannot be eternal, unless an eternity of 
torment be inflicted for every sin. An eternity of woe for one 
transgression, shocks all the sense of justice which God has 
implanted in the human breast. 

1 Mark ix. 49. 2 Rev. xx. 3. 



HELL. 373 

This objection proceeds on the radical mistake, that men cease 
to be moral agents, bound by the law of God, when they have 
passed into the world of woe. God's dominion is universal ; and 
the inhabitants of hell are as much bound to love and obey 
him, as those of heaven or earth. Men who die in their sins, 
will carry with them not only the guilt accumulated during the 
present life, but the inclination, confirmed by habit, to continue in 
sin. They will hate God and blaspheme his name, and their sins 
cannot cease to be offensive to God, because their moral character 
has become fixed and unalterable. A sinner cannot become inno- 
cent by being confirmed in sin. Were it so, the inhabitants of hell 
would be innocent beings ; their habitation would be as pure as the 
high and holy place where God dwells ; and their blasphemies 
would be as little offensive to God and all holy beings, as the songs 
of angels. All this is manifestly absurd. Sin continued, will 
deserve and provoke continued wrath ; and the future condition of 
the wicked is chiefly terrible, because they are abandoned by God 
to the full exercise and influence of their unholy passions, and the 
consequent accumulation of guilt for ever and ever. 

If God's justice will not permit him to punish sinners with ban- 
ishment from his presence, and confinement in the regions of woe, 
beyond a limited period of time ; then it will follow, that when 
this limited period of suffering shall have passed, justice will not 
only permit, but will absolutely require, that they should be re- 
leased. Who can believe that, after a thousand years spent in 
blaspheming God, and strengthening their enmity to his character 
and government, they shall be turned loose, to roam at large in 
God's dominions, and to visit at pleasure the holy and happy place 
where nothing entereth that defileth?" 1 Who can believe that 
God's justice will demand this, and will authorize them to demand 
it ? Yet all this will follow, if the ground assumed in the objection 
be not false. 

Obj. 2. God's benevolence will not permit him to inflict such 
misery on his creatures. He claims them as his offspring, and 
represents himself as their Father : and, as no human parent would 
so treat his children, it is not to be supposed that the benevolent 
Father of all will be so unfeeling and unmerciful. 

1 Rev. xxi. 27. 



374 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

This objection, while it claims to honor God's benevolence, dis- 
honors his veracity. Our inferences from God's benevolence may 
all be mistake ; but God's word must be true : and he who, relying 
on the deductions of his own reason, rejects the warnings that God 
has graciously given him, will find, in the end, that he has acted 
most foolishly and wickedly. 

The objection assumes what is inconsistent, not only with the 
truth of God's declarations as to the future, but also with known 
and undeniable facts of the past and present. Had the objector 
been present when man came forth in his original purity from the 
hand of his Maker, he would, on the principle assumed in his 
objection, have predicted, with confidence, that God would never 
permit this fair production of his creative power and skill to become 
involved in the fall and its consequent evils. Had he been present, 
in the garden of Eden, when the serpent said, " Ye shall not surely 
die," he would, in his professed honor of God's benevolence, have 
confirmed the declaration made by the father of lies. The misery 
endured by the human race in every age, from the fall to the pres- 
ent moment, in every region of the globe, in every tribe, in every 
family, in the daily and hourly experience of every individual, is 
all inconsistent with the principle assumed in the objection. If, 
at the creation, it would have denied the possibility of what we 
know has occurred, how can we trust it when it now denies the 
possibility of what God says shall be ? When our inferences op- 
pose fact, and the truth of God, we may be assured that they are 
wrong. 

When pestilence is desolating a land, God sees the wretchedness 
that is produced, and hears the cries of the suffering, and could, 
with one breath, drive far away the cause of the fatal malady. 
When a ship is wrecked in the raging ocean, God hears the cries 
of the sinking mariners, and understands well their terror and 
anguish, and could, without effort, bear the shattered vessel at 
once to its destined port in safety. Were the objector in God's 
stead, would he be deaf to the cries of his children ? Would he 
not promptly afford the needed relief ? He would. What then ? 
Is he benevolent, and is God unfeeling and unmerciful ? So the 
objection would decide ; and we know, therefore, that it is not 
according to truth. 

God is of right the Father of his creatures : but he says, " If I 



HELL. 375 

be a father, where is my honor?" 1 and he complains, "I have- 
nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against 
me." 2 By their rebellion, men have become the children of the 
wicked one. Christ said, " If God were your Father, ye would 
love me;" 3 implying that those whom he addressed were not the 
children of God. To such men God is not a Father, but an 
offended and insulted moral Governor. He is benevolent ; but his 
benevolence does not overthrow his moral government. On the 
contrary, it enforces the claims of justice. To turn loose the 
guilty, and to permit the lawless to roam at large through his 
dominions, to disturb the peace and order of his government, and 
render the obedient unhappy, would not be benevolence. God's 
benevolence is against the sinner ; and when the walls of the 
infernal prison are broken down, and its guilty inmates are per- 
mitted to fill the universe with crime and wretchedness, it will no 
longer be true that God is love. 

In contemplating the awful subject of future misery, and its 
relation to God's benevolence, our minds may find some relief in 
regarding the misery as the natural and proper effect of sin. God 
has so constituted the nature of man, that he feels remorse for 
crime ; and he has so constituted the nature of external things, 
that drunkenness, and many other sins, produce poverty and suf- 
fering. We have not the hardihood to complain that this consti- 
tution of things is not benevolent. He who, knowing that fire 
will burn, voluntarily puts his hand into the flame, has no right to 
charge God with want of benevolence, because he has made it the 
nature of fire to burn. Much of future misery may be regarded 
as the natural effect of sinful passions, tearing the soul by their vio- 
lence, or of an upbraiding conscience, gnawing within, as the worm 
that dieth not. "God is a consuming fire," ever present to the 
workers of iniquity; and his nature must change if his wrath 
cease to burn against sin. The nature of things, as constituted 
by God, and as including the nature of God himself, must render 
the sinner miserable. If he would cease to be miserable, he must 
escape from himself, and must find another God, and another 
universe. 

1 Mai. i. 6. • s Isaiah i. 2. 3 John viii. 42. 



876 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 



CONCLUSION. 

This world is not such a habitation as a wise man would desire 
to live in for ever. The young and thoughtless expect to find 
happiness in it; but experience teaches that the expectation is 
vain and delusive. Disappointment, care, and sorrow form a large 
part of human life ; and as men approach the end of their course, 
they can adopt the language of the patriarch Jacob : " Few and 
evil have been the days of my pilgrimage." 1 This sad experience 
results from the fact, that God's curse rests on the world, because 
it is full of sin : and what wise man would wish to live for ever in 
a habitation that God has cursed ? 

If this were the only world, it would be well for us to make the 
best of it : but we have abundant proof that another world exists ; 
and a revelation from it has been made, by which we may learn 
how to obtain a portion there, that will be full of unmixed happi- 
ness, and will endure for ever. We are called on to relinquish our 
delusive hope of earthly good, and lay hold on the hope, set before 
us, that is sure and certain : to give up our pursuit of the unsatis- 
fying and short-lived pleasures of the present life, and to seek the 
substantial and eternal joys of the life to come. It is certainly 
the part of wisdom to obey this call. 

Another fact needs to be considered. Whether we will or not, 
we are compelled to leave this world, and take up our eternal abode 
in another habitation, either of joy or woe. If we had all possible 
enjoyment here, it would be but momentary, and would not deserve 
a thought in comparison with eternal happiness and misery. We 
are rapidly passing through this world, to our eternal home. 
Whether, in this lodging place of wayfaring men, our comforts 
shall be 'few or many, is a matter of very little moment, and 
unworthy of anxious care : but it is extreme folly to be uncon- 
cerned about the world to which we are hastening, and where our 
condition will be fixed for ever. 



1 Gen. xlvii. 9. 



CONCLUSION. 377 

There are some things in religion which are hard to be under- 
stood, and about which some persons are inclined to be skeptical : 
but is there any other thing so incredible, as that intelligent and 
immortal beings should make the things of this fleeting world 
their chief care, and give themselves no concern about eternity ? 
If the fact were not daily before our eyes, who could believe it ? 
Were the Bible to inform us that there are intelligent immortals 
in a remote planet who thus act, the skeptic would appear almost 
excusable who should doubt the truth of the statement ; but that 
book tells us of men, intelligent and immortal men, who are 
blinded by the god of this world, and led captive by him at his 
will, and who do not consider their latter end, but rush on to 
destruction, as the ox goeth to the slaughter. This testimony, 
than which the Bible contains nothing more incredible, is verified 
by the whole history of mankind. From this reigning folly even 
Christian men are but partly delivered. Even they perpetually 
need the exhortation, "Be not conformed to this world;" 1 and, to 
preserve them from the fascinating power of " the things seen, 
which are temporal," they should look habitually at "the things 
which are unseen and eternal." For this purpose, the doctrine 
concerning the future world is to them very important. " This is 
the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith :" 2 and faith, 
being " the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of 
things not seen," 3 must lay hold on the realities of the invisible 
and future world. 

The doctrine concerning the future world teaches us to set a 
proper value on earthly good. If the honors of the world tempt 
us, let us remember that, in the grave, the king and the meanest 
of his subjects will lie on the same level, and mingle with the same 
dust ; and that, in the resurrection, the noble of the earth, who 
have not sought the honor that cometh from God, will rise to shame 
and everlasting contempt. If the pleasures of the world invite, 
let us conceive of them as the bait with which Satan would ensnare 
our souls, and lead them into everlasting torments. If our hearts 
incline, at any time, to covetousness, let us contemplate the rich 
man in hell, stripped of all his possessions, and unable to procure 
a drop of water to cool his parched tongue. So let us keep eter- 

1 Rom. xii. 2. 2 1 John v. 4. 3 Heb. xi. 1. 



378 DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE FUTURE WORLD. 

nity directly in view ; and, in its light, the honors, pleasures, and 
wealth of this world will lose their lustre, and cease to charm. 

This doctrine teaches us how to bear the afflictions of life. The 
heaviest affliction that can crush the spirit here, is far lighter than 
the weight of wrath which falls on the wicked in the world to come. 
Why, then, should a living man complain, a man for the punishment 
of his sins ?* So long as he still lives, out of torment, out of hell, his 
suffering, however severe, is inconceivably less than his sins deserve. 
Moreover, his afflictions, if endured with humble resignation to God, 
are conducing to his holiness. Though light and momentary, they 
work out for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory. 2 With eternity in view, the heaviest and most enduring 
anguish of this life appears light and momentary ; and we can 
rejoice to endure it, because of the glorious effects which it will 
produce in the eternal world. 

This doctrine teaches the value of religion. Learning and talent, 
agreeable manners and amiable disposition, are all worthy to be 
prized; but they do not secure eternal blessedness. Religion is the 
one thing needful, the good part that will never be taken from us. 3 
Let sinners despise religion and curl the lip with scorn, when you 
speak of its claim on their regard : but even they, when eternity is 
near in prospect, learn the value of what once they despised. 
With eternity in view, how precious is religion ! how precious the 
Bible which teaches it ! 

This doctrine endears Christ to believers. He is precious, for 
what he is in himself; but this preciousness is enhanced by the 
consideration, that it is he who delivers us from the wrath to come, 
who is preparing a place for us in the world of bliss, who will come' 
and take us to himself, an5 for ever lead us to the fountains of 
living waters, in that lan^ «tf everflowing delight. 

This doctrine consoles us, under the loss of Christian friends. 
We follow them to the tomb, and our tears flow freely : but we 
sorrow not as those who have no hope. They are not lost to us, 
but have only gone home before us ; and we are waiting to be sent 
for, when it shall be the pleasure of our heavenly Father. Our 
separation from them is short, for we are fast approaching our 

1 Lam. iii. 39. 2 2 Cor. iv. 17. 8 Luke x. 42. 



CONCLUSION. 379 

journey's end, and then we shall join them again, never more to 
part. 

This doctrine, if received in lively faith, enables the Christian to 
meet death with joy. When a man repents of sin, and believes in 
Christ, he is prepared to die safely ; but he may nevertheless, 
through the weakness of his faith, be afraid to die. To meet 
death without fear, requires strong faith in Christ, as the Saviour 
of sinners. To meet death with joy, requires strong faith in the 
doctrine concerning the future world. When we can stand, like 
Moses on Pisgah's top, and view the good land in all its beauty, our 
hearts leap forward, with strong desire, to go over Jordan, and 
possess it. We long to join the happy company, who dwell for 
ever in the presence of our God. to be free from sin, as they 
are ; — to behold the face of Jesus, as they do ; — to partake of their 
bliss, and unite in their everlasting hallelujahs ! 

Header, what are your prospects in the future world ? Have 
you received the love of the truth, that you may be saved ? Does 
the truth as it is in Jesus enter your heart, with sanctifying power? 
Are you daily striving, by a holy life, to adorn the doctrine of God 
our Saviour in all things ? 



THE END. 



